A Pure Shinobi
by FantasyWriter345
Summary: Kagome thought that she and Inuyasha will finally be together after the fall of Naraku and the jewel finally gone. But she catches him with another woman. She soon encounters Midoriko who gives her a choice: defeat the Akatsuki or stay in the feudal era. Which one will she choose? Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Inuyasha, you traitor!" Kagome yelled on the way back to the Bone-eater's well. She couldn't believe it! Inuyasha was with another woman! She thought that after Naraku was defeated and the jewel gone, she and Inuyasha would be together. He confessed that he loved her before the final battle. But she guessed that he really didn't mean it. Probably she will never believe in him anymore. After all, he was just using her to find the jewel shards. He probably wanted to become a full demon, but instead he let her have the wish. She didn't know why Inuyasha had betrayed her.

Kagome went off by herself to see Miroku and Sango. Luckily when she got there, she was able to give birth to Sango's twin daughters. But when she got back, she saw Inuyasha in their hut with another woman, rutting to be exact. She slapped him across the face and left the village. When she reached the well, tears began to fall from her sapphire eyes. Even though she wanted to stay, but she couldn't. Not with Inuyasha around. She knew that she if she left, everyone would miss her. Not mention that Inuyasha will try to follow her and ask her to forgive him. That was not going to happen. Maybe she'll spend a few days at home for a while. She got over the rim and jumped in.

As soon as she fell into the well, a different colored light surrounded her. It was a very light lavender color. Kagome was confused as she looked all around and saw nothing but the lavender light. Then she saw a figure walk towards her. It was a woman dressed in miko garments and an shield in front of her chest and shoulder pads as well.

"Midoriko." Kagome said in awe at the creator of the Shikon no Tama. She saw Midoriko a few times in her dreams. She wondered why Midoriko has appeared now.

"Hello Kagome." Midoriko said with a kind smile.

"Midoriko, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked.

"I have noticed that you seem unhappy in this era." Midoriko said.

"Hai." Kagome said, "Inuyasha betrayed me and played with my heart."

"I'm sorry, Kagome." Midoriko said with a sad look.

"It's okay. I guess it just wasn't meant to be." Kagome said. Midoriko walked over and hugged Kagome. Kagome quickly grasped onto her and started crying. She kindly smoothed out Kagome's long black locks; trying to calm her heart.

"Kagome." Midoriko said. Kagome stopped crying and lifted her head up.

"Hai?" Kagome asked.

"I'm giving you a choice." Midoriko said.

"A choice?" Kagome asked.

"To live in another world." Midoriko said.

"Another world?" Kagome asked, shocked.

"It is a world full of ninjas also known as shinobi. But there is a great evil, the Akatsuki, who will tip the scale between good and evil." Midoriko said.

"Are they really powerful?" Kagome asked.

"Hai. They have done unspeakable things. They intend to capture jinchūriki, humans that host a powerful tailed beast sealed inside of them, and soon they'll start a war that will cost thousands of lives." Midoriko said.

"They sound even worse than Naraku." Kagome said.

"Hai." Midoriko said, "I believe that a group of highly skilled shinobi will not be enough to stop them."

"You believe I'll be able to give them a winning chance?" Kagome asked.

"Hai." Midoriko said.

"If I do go, what will happen?" Kagome asked.

"You'll have to be reborn when you go into that world. When you get a little bit older, I will train you in your dreams." Midoriko said.

"I think it probably should be fair. I don't mind starting over. Literally." Kagome said with a small smile. She really didn't mind. Truth be told, she didn't mind having another adventure. Who knows, she might find someone for her.

"Will you go, Kagome?" Midoriko asked.

"Hai." Kagome said, "But can I say goodbye to everyone before I go?"

"Of course, Kagome. Let me know when you are ready." Midoriko said with a soft smile.

* * *

After that, Kagome went home to her family and told them of what happened between her and Midoriko. None of them were happy about her decision on going, but they knew that this is what she wanted. Her mother understood her decision. She knew that Kagome wasn't a little girl anymore, she was a young woman who can make her own decisions. Even though she'll be gone from their lives, that doesn't mean she'll be gone from their hearts.

"Goodbye, Mom." Kagome said as she hugged her mom, "Goodbye, Grandpa." hugged her grandpa, and then Souta, "Goodbye, Souta."

"We'll miss you, Kagome." Mom said.

"I'll miss you all, too." Kagome said. She gave them one more hug and sat on the rim of the well. She looked over her shoulder and gave them a bright smile and a wave before jumping into the well.

* * *

Kagome explained the talk she had with Midoriko to everyone, except Inuyasha. They were surprised at her decision. But they knew that she wouldn't change it. They knew that she would do anything from evil spreading. Especially when it comes to people who are similar to Naraku.

"That's the reason why you're leaving?" Sango asked, holding one of her twin daughters in her arms.

"Hai." Kagome said.

"We understand, Lady Kagome." Miroku said, holding the other twin daughter.

"Really?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, you always want to help anyone who's in trouble." Miroku said. Sango smiled and nodded at Kagome. Kagome remembered when she first met Miroku and Sango. At first she thought Miroku was just a perverted monk with a curse in his right hand. Despite his perverted ways, he became like an older brother to her. Sango was also like an older sister to her as well. After losing her village and family, she easily grew attached to them and somehow managed to fall for the pervert monk.

"Do you really have to go, mama?" Shippo asked, looking up at her while sitting in her lap.

"I'm afraid I have to, Shippo." Kagome said, regretting that she has to leave her beloved kit goodbye.

"Is it because of Inuyasha?" Shippo asked. He knew that Inuyasha always hurts Kagome in the worst possible ways. It was like he didn't even care about Kagome, which is really cruel of him. The stupid half-demon dog doesn't know the consequences of his own actions. He'll probably never know.

"That too. But I really want to help stop the Akatsuki." Kagome said, stroking Shippo's locks of auburn. She remember when she first met the little kit along her journey of collecting the jewel shards. His father was killed and turned into a pelt by the thunder brothers demon. After avenging his father, he tagged along with them.

"I understand, mama." Shippo said as he wrapped his arms tightly around Kagome's neck. Kagome was the only mama he knew and would ever had.

* * *

At the well, everyone was giving her a hug good bye, except Sesshomaru. They knew that they'll never see her again. But they knew that they'll never forget about her. Kagome looked at each of the faces of her beloved friends that she had made along her journey throughout the feudal era. They met in unexpected ways and were able to become friends and allies in the defeat of Naraku.

"Good bye, everyone." Kagome said, taking one last look at her friends before jumping into the well. When she reached the bottom, the lavender light surrounded her and she saw Midoriko standing in front of her.

"I'm ready, Midoriko." Kagome said. Midoriko nodded with a smile.

"Kagome, there's one thing that you must do." Midoriko said.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"Please protect the nine-tailed jinchūriki and the last Uchiha heir. Make sure that they stay on the path of true strength. Not on the path of revenge and darkness." Midoriko said.

"Don't worry, I will." Kagome said with a smile before both mikos vanished into the light.

* * *

 _Sometimes a little heartbreak is a lesson, and the best thing to do is just learn the lesson._

\- Jon Voight


	2. Team 7

Chapter 1: Team 7

12 years later:

"Team 7 consists Naruto Uzumaki,...Sakura Haruno,...Sasuke Uchiha,...and Kagome Higurashi." Iruka said. Kagome, with Kirara on her right shoulder, and Naruto shot up from their seats and cheered. When they noticed the attention they were receiving, they quickly sat back down.

 _We're on the same team, Kagome-chan!_ Naruto thought, excitedly. Kirara mewed for her excitement.

 _Hai! But we're stuck with a fan girl, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought with a smile, which turned sour after mentioning the 'fan girl'.

 _Ugh._ Naruto groaned. Both of them slumped their heads down when they heard that Sakura Haruno was put on their team. Not to mention, Sasuke Uchiha, who's known as the emotionless prince with no social life (that's what Kagome thinks). Even if she doesn't like Sasuke, she promised Midoriko that she would protect Naruto and Sasuke. She wasn't so sure about Sakura though.

 _I wish Hinata-chan was on our team instead._ Kagome thought, sighed.

 _I agree, Kagome-chan._ Naruto thought, sighed. Kagome and Naruto are able to communicate telepathically because of the nine-tails inside of Naruto (which Naruto never even knew back then) and Kagome's abilities that were gained from her summons: kitsunes. Kagome had been reunited with Shippo and Kirara in the shinobi world when she was eight years old. Shippo had made a summoning contract for her when she was in her first year at the academy. Kagome was surprised to meet all of the kitsunes that she had rescued and saved back in the feudal era. Full fledged kitsunes and hanyō all pledged themselves to her as soon as she signed the contract. They also got along fine with Naruto as well.

The reason why Kagome and Naruto are close is because they've been brother and sister ever since they were babies. Kagome's mother adopted Naruto after the nine-tails attacked the village. Even though no one wanted to take care of Naruto because of the beast, her mother decided to take on the role as Naruto's mother. Kagome took on the role as Naruto's older sister, even though he's a week older than her. But that didn't matter to them.

"Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be paired up with those two? I thought this was suppose to be a three men squad!" Sakura said while pointing at Kagome and Naruto. An angry tick mark appeared on both of their heads. Having Sasuke on the team was bad enough, but having Sakura on it made it even worse. _A lot_ worse.

"We have an uneven amount of graduates this year. We have to pair each group with the highest scores and lowest scores, which balances out the team. Simple as that, Sakura." Iruka said with an angry tick mark that appeared on the side of his head. He really didn't like being interrupted at the moment.

"So Sasuke-kun and I are paired together?" Sakura asked in a hopeful, yet cheerful tone.

"No, Kagome is. She scored higher than you and Sasuke. Naruto somehow managed to score higher than you, Sakura." Iruka said, "Make sure to work on your jutsus because they're your weakest point."

Soon everyone started to laugh at Sakura. She felt so embarrassed at that moment. She couldn't believe it! Kagome and Naruto actually scored higher than her?! That's impossible! Those two are well known pranksters. Not to mention that some of the boys think that Kagome is a wild beauty because of her sapphire eyes and long black hair with a tint of blue that was tied in a ponytail. She seemed pretty strong in everyone's eyes. All of the boys were fanning over her whenever she smiled at them. She hoped that Sasuke didn't have feelings towards Kagome. Then she noticed that Sasuke turned his attention at Kagome. Sakura's fears were about to come true.

" **So let's all get along, Haruno**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time while smiling with closed eyes. She sweat dropped at the tone of their voices. Somehow she knew that their smiles sometimes mean that they're about to cause trouble.

* * *

"It's too bad we're not on the same team, Hinata-chan." Kagome said as she took a bite of her lunch. She invited Hinata, Shikamaru, Chōji, Kiba, and Akamaru for lunch after the teams were all announced. They've always had lunch together ever since they all attended the academy together. Kagome and her mother always made the time to lunch for all of them. She also had to make sure that Naruto and Chōji ate healthy foods as well.

"It-It's ok-okay, Kagome-chan." Hinata said, nervously.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other before missions." Kiba said as he pet Akamaru.

"Yeah, you're right, Kiba-kun." Kagome said with a small smile.

"Kagome-chan, do you know who we have for a jounin sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Hai, in fact, I know everyone's." Kagome said.

"Really?" Chōji asked before taking another bite of food. Kagome nodded.

"Shikamaru, Chōji, you have Asuma Sarutobi. He's mostly hailed for his close ranged melee combat skills. His nature transformations are really cool as well." Kagome said.

"Interesting." Shikamaru said, his brow arched.

"Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, you have Kurenai Yūhi. She's a powerful genjutsu user. Her genjutsu skills are said to be rivaled to the Uchiha clan." Kagome said.

"A powerful genjutsu user, heh? I can't wait to meet her." Kiba said, grinning. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Naruto and I have Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi is widely known as the Copy-nin." Kagome said.

"The Copy-nin?" Naruto asked, curious.

"He's able to copy anyone's jutsus. I heard that he copied more than a thousand jutsus." Kagome said.

"That's so cool! I didn't know Kakashi had such a reputation." Naruto said, excitedly.

"Do you two already know Kakashi-san?" Hinata asked after she finished chewing.

"Hai, he's the one who helped us with the prank we did on Guy when we were little." Kagome said, giggling.

"So you were the ones who dyed his spandex pink, right?" Shikamaru asked, his brow arched while pointing at Kagome and Naruto.

" **Hai**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time. Kagome could never forget that day. When they were trying to think of a distraction for Guy, they ran into Kakashi. For some reason, he wanted to help them. It had a great result in the end. Guy ended up in tears and he had to wear the pink spandex until he got new ones, meaning he had to wait about two weeks. They always met up with Kakashi when they were on their way home from shopping. But they mostly ran into Iruka whenever doing an errand. Then the bell rang, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Well, we better get going." Shikamaru said as he stared to get up.

"Not until you help me clean up first." Kagome said, narrowing her eyes at Shikamaru. She knew that he was trying to get away from helping her and the others to clean up. Shikamaru sighed and said, "What a drag."

* * *

Kakashi Hatake stood at the entrance to the Konoha ninja academy. He hadn't been near this place in quite awhile. It brought back some good memories to him along with bad ones as well. He shook his head, he didn't want to think about the past now. He had something to do here. Before he took a step, he heard a 'mew' sound near his feet. He looked down and saw a little tan colored cat with black tips on its feet, ears, and on the end of its two tails. The cat was sitting down while staring up at him with its red eyes. If anyone saw this cat, they would probably want to know what it was. But he recognized this cat anywhere.

"Hello there, Kirara." Kakashi said as he crouched down and pet Kirara's head. She mewed as he gently stroke her fur from her head to her two tails. Then he heard two sets of footsteps come his way.

"Kirara! Oh, Kakashi-san!" A female voice said. Kakashi looked up and saw two of the four students he was taking under his wing: Kagome Higurashi and Naruto Uzumaki.

"Kagome, Naruto, how are you two?" Kakashi said as he stood up with Kirara on his right shoulder.

"We're great!" Naruto said with excitement, punching both fists in the air.

"We were just doing some training while waiting for our jounin sensei." Kagome said.

"Oh, he hasn't shown up yet?" Kakashi asked, not telling them that he was their sensei.

"Unfortunately he hasn't." Kagome said, sighed.

"Do you think something came up in order for our sensei not to be here?" Naruto asked.

"Not sure." Kagome said, "But I bet all this waiting is driving Haruno crazy though." Kagome had a mischievous smile on her face.

"I'm sure it is." Naruto said with a grin. Kakashi was also smiling underneath his mask as well.

 _They haven't changed one bit after the pink spandex episode._ Kakashi thought. He was laughing internally when he saw Guy's reaction to his ruined spandex. He wished he had a camera at that time. Guy looked ridiculous; mismatched colors to be most precise. Pink spandex, green jounin vest, orange leg warmers, and blue ninja sandals. He was moping for two weeks, which took about the time to get a pair of new spandex. He was back in good spirits as soon as he got the new ones.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that you're finally here, Kakashi- _sensei_." Kagome said.

"Hai...wait, how did you know that I'm your sensei?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"You just told us." Kagome said, "Also, everyone is already gone and we ran into Iruka-sensei on the way back from our small errand. And also because you've been standing outside of the academy for awhile as well."

Kakashi was shocked on what Kagome said. He couldn't believe that she already knew that he was Team 7's sensei. He was also surprised that she outsmarted him. Kirara jumped off his shoulder and ran over to Kagome and jumped into her arms.

"Well, it seems I've been found out." Kakashi said while scratching the back of his head, "I'm Kakashi Hatake and I'll be your jounin sensei."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said, "And this is Kirara."

" **Please look after us**." Naruto and Kagome said at the same time as they bowed at Kakashi.

"Don't worry, I will." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask. He remembered the first time of when he met these two. They had changed him forever. It was because of them that he was here on this day.

"We better head in before billboard brow starts complaining up a storm." Kagome said.

"Hai, hai." Kakashi said.

* * *

"By the way, Kakashi-sensei, I just want to let you know that we have a fangirl in our group. So be prepared for squeals." Kagome said as she, Naruto, and Kakashi headed towards their classroom.

"I'll remember that." Kakashi said. They soon arrived at the door of the classroom. Kakashi pushed the door open and a chalkboard eraser hit his head. The eraser fell on the floor and the two occupants in the classroom were silent until Sakura spoke up nervously,

"I'm so sorry, sensei. But I wasn't the one who put the eraser there."

"My first impression of you...I hate you." Kakashi said. Sakura and Sasuke hung their heads in gloom while Kagome and Naruto sweat dropped. They didn't expect for Kakashi-sensei to have quick judgement on someone. Not to mention being brutal as well.

"Meet me on the roof." Kakashi said before he went 'poof' out of the room.

* * *

 _You put the eraser there, didn't you Kagome?_ Naruto thought as he and Kagome race towards the roof.

 _Hai! Did you see the look on Haruno's face when Kakashi said that he hated them?_ Kagome thought with a grin.

 _Hai, priceless!_ Naruto thought with a grin. Then the two of them finally reached the roof and saw Kakashi leaning against the railing. It had been a while since they last saw him. The last time they saw him was before they were on their way to their graduation test. They looked up to Kakashi for his strength and his wisdom that he had shared with them once or twice. Then they ran towards him and stood in front of him.

"Kakashi-sensei, you don't hate me and Naruto-kun, right?" Kagome asked.

"Of course not. I don't hate you two." Kakashi said, smiling.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Kagome said, "By the way, is Guy still bothering you for another challenge?"

"Nope, he hasn't. He's been busy with his team as well." Kakashi said.

"How many matches have you had with Guy?" Naruto said, curious.

"Around a hundred, I believe." Kakashi said, shrugging.

"Wow. That many?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, but I won in all the rock-paper-scissors games." Kakashi said.

"He never won in any of those, did he?" Naruto asked, sweat dropped. Somehow he could imagine Guy easily losing to a mental game instead of a physical game. If it was a race, Guy would have won, but Kakashi would probably have won as well. He wondered if the two ever had a tie between them. Maybe not.

"Nope." Kakashi said. At that moment, Sasuke and Sakura came up to the roof. Kagome sat on the steps and Naruto sat next to her. Sasuke went around and sat on the other side of Kagome. Sakura, being the last one to the roof, sat next to Naruto. She pouted at the sight of Sasuke sitting next to Kagome. She really disliked Kagome at the moment.

"So how about we introduce ourselves?" Kakashi asked.

"What do we say?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Your name, likes and dislikes, hobbies, future dreams, anything like that." Kakashi said while crossing his arms. Truth be told, he really didn't care what they say.

"Oh, I'll go first!" Naruto said as he waved his hand in the air, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and everything that Aunt Hana (Kagome's mother) makes. I hate vegetables and waiting three minutes after you put hot water in the ramen. I like training and playing pranks with Kagome. My future dream is to become the greatest of all of the Hokages!"

 _That's quite a determined dream, Naruto._ Kakashi thought.

"Next." Kakashi said, pointing at Sakura.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. I like…(giggle)...who like is…(giggle)...my dream is…(giggle)." Sakura was starting to say with her fists in front of her mouth while glancing at Sasuke who was not even paying any attention to her. But everyone began to lose her at that moment when she started to giggle or squeal between sentences. It was already getting annoying.

"So what do you hate?" Kakashi asked, bored.

"Naruto and Kagome!" Sakura said with such bitterness.

 _ **We hate you as well, Haruno**._ Kagome and Naruto thought at the same time with a tick mark on their foreheads.

"OOkay. Next." Kakashi said, pointing at Sasuke.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like anything and I hate everything." Sasuke said, "I don't have a dream...but I have an ambition: I will kill a certain man and revive my clan."

 _ **Itachi Uchiha, no doubt**._ Kagome and Kakashi thought at the same time.

What Sasuke didn't say that he was interested in Kagome. There was something about her that drew him to her. He had to admit that she's beautiful, but he didn't know how strong she is. He had only seen her demonstrate her skills in class. She wasn't like any of the girls in the academy. She was always training whenever she had the chance. Naruto was always with her when she was training. He also didn't know why she hung around with Naruto. He knew that the two of them were always playing pranks on the other shinobi. Perhaps he'll never know.

Naruto shivered by the tone of Sasuke's voice when he mentioned his ambition. Sakura's head dropped when Sasuke mentioned that he hated everything, but her head perked up when she mentioned his goal. To her, he looked so manly and cool. Then she noticed that Sasuke was glancing at Kagome. But Kagome wasn't even paying any attention to him.

 _What does she have that I don't?_ Inner Sakura asked as she clenched her fists in anger.

"Last one." Kakashi said, pointing at Kagome. Everyone stared at Kagome when she cleared her throat.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi and this is my partner, Kirara." Kirara mewed at her name, "I like reading, eating oden, and training with Naruto. I hate fan girls. My hobbies are pulling pranks with Naruto." With a soft soft smile she said, "My future dream...is to become a strong shinobi so that I can protect those who are precious to me."

It was silent for a moment. They were entranced by the words of Kagome's future dream. It sound so pure and innocent. Full of determination. Just like Naruto Uzumaki's dream of becoming Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village.

 _So I have two determined dreamers, a fangirl, and a bloodthirsty avenger. My most interesting group I have._ Kakashi thought with a grin, _This is going to be VERY interesting._

"Alright then, starting tomorrow, we'll begin our first mission." Kakashi said.

"What kind of mission?" Naruto asked, excitedly.

"A survival test." Kakashi said.

"Survival test?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Hai. But it's not going to be like the ones you had in the academy." Kakashi said. Then he began to laugh for some reason. They were starting to feel uneasy by Kakashi's dark laugh.

"Um, what's so funny, Kakashi-sensei?" Kagome asked, confused at why their sensei was suddenly laughing. It started to creep her out.

"If I told you, you probably won't like it." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask. They looked at each other and then back at Kakashi. He cleared his throat before he answered.

"Out of 28 graduates, only 10 of them will become ninjas. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy and be waited out. The chances of failing this test is probably 67%." Kakashi said, still smiling underneath his mask. All of them had a look of shock on their faces except Sasuke who had a dark glare on his face. Kakashi laughed again while pointing at their expressions.

"See, I told you wouldn't like it." Kakashi said.

"WHAT?! I thought that we all become ninjas when we graduate! What's the point of it if we all get sent back?!" Naruto exclaimed, panicking to be most precise.

"Your graduation test to was to prove yourself at whether you become a ninja or not. In order to be passed as real ninjas, genin have to pass a test that a jounin assigns. Since jounins have more experience in the shinobi world. It also helps them prepare for real missions." Kakashi said.

Everyone was determined at that moment. Although they had different goals in mind. None of them wanted to fail the test that Kakashi will assign to them.

 _I can't fail this test! If I do, I'll be separated from Sasuke forever and he'll be that Higurashi girl! This is a trial of love!_ Sakura thought as she glared at Kagome who wasn't paying any attention to her. At the same time, Sasuke was clenching his fists.

 _I_ won't _fail. I_ will _surpass Itachi. I_ will _revenge my clan._ Sasuke thought. Then he glanced at Kagome who was sitting next to him, _I also don't want to be separated from Kagome._

 _Let's do our best, Naruto-kun!_ Kagome thought.

 _Hai!_ Naruto thought, excitedly.

"So come to the training ground tomorrow at 5 am. Bring your ninja gear with you as well." Kakashi said, "By the way, don't eat breakfast."

"Why?" Sakura asked, confused. Everyone blinked in confusion. Why was their sensei telling them not to eat breakfast?

"You might barf." Kakashi said with his visible eye closed which was shaped like a upside 'U' and poof after his warning.

* * *

 _A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning._

\- Brad Henry


	3. The Bell Test

Chapter 2: The Bell Test

The next morning, Kagome and Naruto woke up two hours late past the due time for the test. Kagome knew that Kakashi wouldn't show up for another hour or so. Naruto didn't realize the time until after they finished breakfast. Kagome calmed him down when he started to panic. After calming him down, they double checked their ninja gear before heading out the door. Kagome's mother, while holding Kirara in her arms, wished them 'good luck!' as they walked through the streets.

"Are you sure that he'll be late, Kagome-chan?" Naruto asked as they walked towards their destination. He knew that Kagome was very observant of anyone she encounters. Her theories are often correct. She seemed more tactical and more knowledgeable than Sakura. Before they left, he had asked why Kirara wasn't going with them. She said that she didn't want to reveal Kirara's abilities just yet.

"Hai. Seeing what had happened yesterday, I predict that he's someone who is mostly late for meetings." Kagome said, "Except for the Hokage, of course."

"You think so?" Naruto asked.

"Hai." Kagome said, "But you already know the reason why, Naruto-kun."

"Hai, I know." Naruto said in a sad tone. They knew where Kakashi was at the moment.

* * *

"Where have you two been?! You were suppose to be here three hours ago!" Sakura yelled.

" **We woke up late**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time. An angry tick mark appeared on Sakura's forehead. She was already getting tired of them speaking at the same time. She began to wonder how they do that. Even though that she and Sasuke were waiting, she had alone time with him. Unfortunately he wasn't paying any attention to her. Much to her disappointment. What deepened it was when Kagome and Naruto showed up.

To Kagome and Naruto, there was no point of waiting for three hours late for their sensei to show up. But it was worth it when they saw how antsy Sakura was getting from waiting too long. It was just a matter of time when she'll snap.

* * *

" **YOU'RE LATE!** " Sakura and Naruto yelled as they pointed at Kakashi. He finally showed up an hour later after Kagome and Naruto arrived. Sakura and Sasuke were not that happy about him arriving late for their meeting time. It didn't make a good impression.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around." Kakashi lied. By the look on their faces, they weren't buying it. He scratched the back of his head nervously. Then he decided to change the subject.

"Now that we're all here, let's get started." Kakashi said. He walked over to three wooden poles that stood in the middle of the training ground and placed a timer on top of the middle one.

"This timer is set for noon." Kakashi said as he took something out of his pocket, which revealed to be three small bells attached by red strings, "You have until then to take one of the bells from me."

He waved the bells in front of them, making them jingle, "If you don't retrieve them, I'll tie you up to these poles and will be forced to watch me eat lunch."

At that moment, Sasuke and Sakura's stomach growled except for Kagome and Naruto since they already ate breakfast. So they pretended that they didn't eat.

 _ **That's why he said no breakfast**._ Sasuke and Sakura thought at the same time.

"Wait a minute, why are there three bells when there are four of us? How does that work?" Sakura asked, pointing it out.

"That's because one of you four will be tied to the post, failing the test." Kakashi said as he tossed the bells, "Unless you're prepared to kill me." Then he snatched the bells as they fell back down.

"But sensei, those weapons could really hurt you!" Sakura cried out. Truth be told, she wasn't prepared to kill her sensei.

"Hah." Kagome said. Everyone turned to Kagome who had her hands on her hips.

"As if one genin can take down a jounin like him. Especially someone as weak as YOU, Haruno." Kagome said with her eyes closed. A tick mark appeared on the back of Sakura's head while holding her fist in front of her. Naruto gave a small snicker and Sasuke had a smirk on his face.

"Now listen here, you-" Sakura began to say. Kakashi cleared his throat which caught their attention.

"Alright then, when I say 'start', come at me with everything you got." Kakashi said. Naruto readied his kunai, but Kagome grabbed his shoulder which stopped him from doing anything stupid.

 _He didn't say 'start', Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought.

 _Oh, sorry._ Naruto thought.

"Okay, everyone ready." Kakashi said as everyone got into their positions, "Start!"

Everyone jumped in different directions in the trees and bushes that surrounded the area. It was quiet for a few minutes. Kakashi was already impressed that he couldn't see or hear them. Then he saw a bunch of shuriken coming towards him. He quickly moved out of the way before they reached his feet. When he turned around to see where they came from, there was a kunai headed straight towards him. As soon as he turned his head to avoid it, he saw something wrapped around the kunai: a explosive tag.

 **BOOM!**

The sound of the explosive echoed throughout the training field. Sakura was shocked at the moment. She didn't think that one of her teammates were trying to kill their sensei. She knew that 'her precious' Sasuke wouldn't do so. But she was starting to think that maybe Kagome was.

At the same time, Sasuke was shocked as well. He knew that Sakura wasn't trying to kill Kakashi. But he had a strong belief that Kagome might be trying to, with Naruto's help as well.

* * *

 _That was a close one._ Kakashi thought as he sat on a tree branch in a tall tree and let out a sigh. At the last second, Kakashi used a teleportation jutsu to avoid the explosion. He didn't expect an explosive tag to be thrown at him just minutes after starting the test. Then he heard the sound of shuriken coming his way. He quickly stood up and leaped off the branch and landed in the middle of a clearing. When he did, he saw Naruto with a large shuriken in his hand. He looked like he was ready to throw it. Kakashi stood in position if Naruto decided to throw it. Then he did. As soon as he jumped out of the way, he saw a giant boomerang coming towards him. Naruto heard a poof when the boomerang hit Kakashi.

 _He used a shadow clone, Kagome._ Naruto thought as Kagome jumped down next to him and caught the boomerang.

 _Should've known. He must have used one before he left the tree._ Kagome thought. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated. She began searching for auras that surrounded the area. Sasuke was running from where Kakashi was and Sakura was heading towards Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke:

Sasuke quickly grabbed four shuriken and a kunai from his holster and threw them towards Kakashi. When they hit him, a puff of smoke appeared and disappeared leaving a medium sized log in it's place.

 _Substitution! He probably found my hiding spot already!_ Sasuke thought as he left his spot and ran through the trees before Kakashi spotted him.

* * *

Sakura:

 _Oh, no! He's after Sasuke-kun! I won't let him hurt my Sasuke-kun!_ Sakura thought as she ran through the trees. Then she spotted Kakashi is a clearing and quickly went behind a tree to hide.

 _Good, he hasn't noticed me yet._ Sakura thought. But what she didn't know that Kakashi had appeared behind her.

"Sakura." Kakashi said. Sakura's eyes widened and saw a bunch of leaves swirling around her. When they disappeared, Sakura was confused on what just happened. She went stiff when she heard footsteps behind her.

"S-Sa-Sakura." Sasuke said in a weak voice. Sakura felt relieved at a familiar voice. Then she turned around and instantly froze at the sight before her; Sasuke was pierced by twenty kunai all over. She let out a bloody scream and fainted.

"I think I might have gone too hard on her." Kakashi said while sitting in a nearby tree, "Nah, she should have seen past this."

* * *

Sasuke:

Sasuke heard Sakura's scream and ran over to the source. When he got there, he sweat dropped at her unconscious form. He quickly figured out that she easily fell for the genjutsu. He let out a huge sigh. Then he looked towards Kakashi who stood there with a bored expression and his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not like them." Sasuke said.

"Not like who?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm not weak." Sasuke said, ignoring Kakashi's previous question.

"Prove it." Kakashi said. Sasuke rushed towards Kakashi and did a roundhouse kick. But Kakashi blocked Sasuke's kick and then his fist. He saw Sasuke trying to catch the bell with his free hand. Kakashi quickly back away at the last second. Sasuke performed hand signs at a rapid pace.

 _A fire technique? That will burn a lot of chakra._ Kakashi thought.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as flames blew from his mouth. When the flames died down, a crater was left in its wake, no Kakashi.

 _Where is he? Left? Right? Behind? Above?_ Sasuke thought, looking in every direction. Then he felt a hand on his ankle.

"Below." Kakashi said. He pulled Sasuke into the ground with only his head being visible. Kakashi popped out of the ground and knelt in front of him.

"I admit you are strong. But that doesn't mean that you're any better just because you're different." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask. He stood up and walked away, leaving Sasuke stuck in the ground. When he was out of Sasuke's eye sight, he searched for a certain item in his pocket. Only to find that it wasn't there.

 _Where is it?! I know I left it in my pocket somewhere! I couldn't have just lost it!_ Kakashi thought as he frantically searched his pockets.

"You looking for something, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked while sitting on a branch. Kakashi looked up and his uncovered eye widened of what he saw Naruto holding in his hand: _**Icha Icha Paradise**_.

"MY BOOK?!" Kakashi exclaimed while pointing at the book.

"If you want it, then come and get it." Naruto said. As soon as he said the last word, he took off. Kakashi rushed after him.

* * *

Sasuke:

Sasuke grunted as he tried to get out of the hole that he was in. He couldn't move his legs at all, a slight disadvantage. He heard footsteps coming his way. Sakura appeared from out of the bushes and stopped in mid step when she saw Sasuke's head in the ground. She was silent for a minute.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked, blinked.

"NOW IT'S HIS HEAD!" Sakura screamed before she passed out, again.

 _I have her for a teammate?_ Sasuke thought, sweat dropped.

* * *

Kakashi was right behind Naruto as they ran through the trees. Kakashi couldn't believe how fast Naruto was. He wondered how he was able to nearly out run him. As soon as he left the tree line, he arrived in the same place of where they first started the test. He saw Kagome standing next to Naruto. He gave the book to her and she performed similar hand signs to Sasuke's fire technique. The next thing he knew his book was in flames.

"NOOOOOO!" Kakashi screamed when his beloved book soon turned into ashes. When the ashes of his book fell to the ground, a sudden rage entered his body. That was one of his favorite novels and he didn't get to the ending of it. He took out a kunai from his holster and rushed towards Kagome and Naruto. Kagome quickly stood in front of Naruto and did hand signs at a fast rate.

"Katon: Kitsune no hi Jutsu!" Kagome yelled as a giant fire ball of greenish blue flames came out of her mouth and headed towards Kakashi. His eyes widened at the size and color of the flames. When the flames died down, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

 _Careful, Naruto-kun. He could be anywhere._ Kagome thought as they stood back to back.

 _Can you sense him at all, Kagome-chan?_ Naruto thought, looking in different directions.

 _I can._ Kagome thought as she concentrated once more. She sensed everything around the both of them. She sensed Sasuke's aura next to Sakura's. She figured that Sakura must have fainted from seeing something dramatic. Then she found Kakashi's aura. He was coming straight towards them.

 _There!_ Kagome thought as she punched her fist into the ground. Soon the ground started to split and rise until it hit its target.

* * *

Meanwhile:

Hana Higurashi, Kirara, Koichi Uchiha, Iruka, and Hiruzen Sarutobi were sitting together at a table in the Hokage's office while drinking a brand new tea that Hana had made. Everyone around the table knew that Iruka was worried for the new team 7. He was mostly concerned about them passing the test. But he was curious about the jounin they were assigned to.

"You're worried about them, aren't you, Iruka-san?" Koichi Uchiha asked, breaking Iruka out of his thoughts. Iruka sighed.

"Hai." Iruka said as he stared at his reflection in the tea cup while leaning his cheek against his fist.

"Please don't tell me that you don't have faith in Kagome-chan and Naruto-kun, Iruka-san." Hana Higurashi said. Kirara mewed, supporting Hana's curiosity. Kirara knew that Iruka was worried for her teammates. He was the mother hen of all mother hens. Second to Hana to be most precise. She knew that Hana always worried about her children. If Naruto or Kagome had the tiniest of scratches, Hana would simply go into interrogation mode, meaning a barrage of questions.

"It's not that, Hana-chan." Iruka said, glancing at her.

"Well, I know they will pass Kakashi's test." Hana said before she took a sip of her tea.

"How can you be sure, Hana-chan?" Sarutobi asked, curious. He was always curious about Hana Higurashi. She adopted Naruto even though he has the nine tailed beast sealed inside of him. Any other person would have refused to take care of him. But Hana did for some strange reason. He knew that she was always worried about Kagome and Naruto's wellbeing. They were her children. Even though Naruto wasn't related to her at all. But she treated the young boy as if he were her own son.

"They're very special. I believe they will change the shinobi world as they progress in gaining true strength." Hana said, smiling. Kirara mewed with agreement. The males in the room fully agreed with her faith in team 7.

"I believe you're right, Hana-chan." Koichi said, smiling while taking a sip of his tea. He knew that those two have great potential in themselves. It was the reason why he trained the two of them. But there was something else he saw in them. He couldn't find an explanation for it.

* * *

Kagome and Naruto:

"W-What strength." Kakashi said with eyes the size of white saucers. He didn't expect Kagome to have such strength. She wasn't even using any chakra in that attack. He shudder of the thought if she had actually hit him. He knew that there aren't many genin who have that sort of strength. Kagome might be the first one he knows. Well, Tsunade Senju has that kind of strength.

Kagome was smirking when she saw the expression on Kakashi's face. She knew that he would be surprised at her strength. But that's not the only thing he'll be surprised about.

 _The test will be over soon. We have to get the bells._ Kagome thought.

 _Any ideas, Kagome-chan?_ Naruto thought.

 _Hai._ Kagome thought.

* * *

With Iruka and the others:

"By the way, Hokage-sama." Iruka said, "I heard some rumors about Kakashi Hatake."

"Perhaps, this might enlighten you." Sarutobi said as he took out a small book from one of his desk drawers. He handed it over to Iruka. Hana, Kirara, and Koichi also decided to glance at it as well. Their eyes widened at the contents.

"There are no passes!" Iruka exclaimed, voicing their thoughts, when they saw the list of the teams that Kakashi was assigned to. He grew even more worried for Naruto and Kagome. Hana, Kirara, and Koichi grew worried as well.

* * *

Kagome and Naruto:

Kagome nodded her head at Naruto and he nodded back. He quickly took out a kunai from his holster and attached an explosive tag to it. He threw it towards Kakashi who was still stunned at the moment. The kunai hit the rock that was behind Kakashi. Kakashi turned around at the kunai and saw the explosive tag attached to it.

 **BOOM!**

Kakashi quickly jumped out of the smoke when the explosion went off. What shocked him next was when thick metal chains quickly wrapped around his body and pulled him to the ground.

"Ugh." Kakashi grunted when he hit the ground. He tried to move his hands, but the chains were wrapped really tight around his body that he couldn't move them. He was lucky enough that they weren't too tight or else he wouldn't be able to breathe. He looked up and saw Kagome holding the other end of the chain. He had to admit that these are strong chains. But then he noticed something else: Naruto wasn't anywhere near Kagome. Suddenly, he heard something move underneath him and Naruto popped out of the ground and stood up next to Kagome. He had two bells in his hand and gave the other one to Kagome. Kakashi's right eye widened at the sight.

 _They caught the bells!_ Kakashi thought. He couldn't believe it. Two of his students were able to catch two of the three bells he had.

* * *

What the other three didn't know was that Sasuke and Sakura were watching them the whole time. They only arrived after Kagome punched her fist into the ground. They didn't know Kagome had the amount of strength that could split the ground apart. Not to mention the metal chains that were able to capture Kakashi. Their eyes widened when they saw Naruto pop out of the ground with two bells in his hand. They were surprised that the two well-known pranksters were able to outsmart Kakashi. The moment was over when the timer went off: the test was over.

Everyone sat near the wooden poles after the timer went off. Kakashi was stretching his muscles after Kagome took off the metal chains. They really did pack a punch. He felt sore in some places on his body. He heard his students' stomach growls (except for Kagome and Naruto).

"I have made my decision. I won't send you back to the academy." Kakashi said, "I decided to drop you from the program."

Everyone had looks of disbelief except for Sasuke who had a dark look.

"So that means...we'll never become ninjas?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"Exactly." Kakashi said. Sasuke, clearly enraged, rushed towards Kakashi with a kunai ready. He quickly pinned Sasuke to the ground with his foot. Sasuke continued to struggle as Kakashi held him down.

"HEY! DON'T CRUSH SASUKE-KUN LIKE A BUG!" Sakura furiously yelled out. Kakashi glared at the four young ninjas. He couldn't understand why they didn't understand the point of this exercise. He thought they would figured it out in the beginning.

"Don't any of you know what the point of this exercise is?" Kakashi asked. Everyone was quiet at that moment.

" **Teamwork**."

They looked towards Kagome and Naruto.

"This exercise was about teamwork." Kagome said. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Kagome and Naruto are right. They knew what the point of this exercise was." Kakashi said, "Kagome had said so in the beginning and I quote, 'As if one genin can take down a jounin like him.'"

"If you knew, why didn't you tell us?" Sakura hissed. Kagome looked at her blankly with her arms crossed.

"Use that big brain of yours, Haruno instead of focusing on Sasuke so much. We could've worked together to get the bells, but you two only cared about yourselves. Even though there were four of us, Kakashi-sensei purposely had three bells so that we would turn against each other. It worked because the only thing you thought of was not getting sent back to the academy." Kagome said. Sakura's eyebrow twitched a few times. She hated to admit, but Kagome was right.

"Why didn't you two team up with Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi asked, glancing at Kagome and Naruto. They both looked at him blankly.

"Haruno hates me and she's obsessed with Sasuke. So she wouldn't listen to me." Kagome said.

"Sasuke thinks he's better than us and that we'll get in his way. So he wouldn't listen to us either." Naruto said.

"In other words…" Kagome began to say.

" **There was no point in teaming up with them**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time while they shrugged their shoulders.

 _They said it in perfect harmony._ Kakashi thought with a sweat drop on the back of his head. He always wondered how the two of them knew what to say at the same time. But he was curious about Kagome's fire technique. It looked much more powerful than Sasuke's. Not to mention the color as well.

"Sakura, like Kagome said, you were so focused on Sasuke who was farther away from you when you could have allied with Kagome and Naruto. Sasuke, you thought that everyone would get in your way so you acted on your own. That arrogance of yours was your downfall." Kakashi said, still pinning Sasuke down with his foot who was stopped struggling. Sakura's head was down, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Kagome knew where this exercise was going. If you had all worked together, you would have gotten all of the bells. Why do you think you're put in squads?" Kakashi asked.

"Because a team has to work together in order to complete a mission." Naruto said.

"Hai." Kakashi said, "Remember, you have to understand that teamwork is an essential to squads. When people put themselves ahead of the squad, it will lead to failure and possibly death. For example…" Kakashi began to say. He quickly drew a kunai out of his holster and pointed it at Sasuke's neck.

"SAKURA! KILL KAGOME OR SASUKE DIES!" Kakashi yelled. Kagome, Naruto, and Sakura stared at him with disbelief. Seeing that they finally understood, he withdrew the kunai and placed it back in his holster. They all sighed in relief.

"That's what will happen when you're on a mission. Whenever an enemy takes a hostage, you have a big choice to make. Someone will die." Kakashi said as he lifted his foot off of Sasuke. He walked over and stood in front of a stone that had writings engraved on it.

"When you're on a mission, you'll always have to put your life on the line." Kakashi said, "All of the heroes of our village are written on this stone."

Kagome and Naruto gazed at the stone with sadness. The memorial stone held many names of the bravest heroes in the village. Those who sacrificed themselves for the sake of the village. It symbolized the will of fire in each of the hero's hearts.

"All of my closest friends have their names engraved on here." Kakashi said in a sad and low tone as he placed his hand on the rock. Kagome and Naruto stared at Kakashi as he gazed at the memorial stone. They already knew that Kakashi's friend's names were on that stone and that he still mourns for his fallen teammates.

Kakashi looked back at the four young ninjas. He knew that they have great potential, but they just don't know how to show it.

"I'll give you a second chance. I'll give you three hours to retrieve the last bell. So eat lunch now." Kakashi said, "There's one rule you'll have to follow or you'll fail: don't feed Sasuke or Sakura."

After that, he went 'poof' out of the clearing before anyone could say anything. Then Kagome and Naruto opened their bentos and started eating. As they ate, they heard Sasuke's and Sakura's stomachs growl. Kagome and Naruto sweatdropped when they heard Sakura's stomach growl, which was the loudest. They glanced at each other and handed their half eaten bentos to Sasuke and Sakura. They blinked in surprise that the two in front of them would break a rule for them.

"What are you trying to do? Fail us?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at Kagome.

"No, we all have to be at full strength to get the last bell." Kagome said.

"I'll be fine!" Sakura said as she crossed her arms and turned away. Naruto handed his bento to Sasuke, who kindly took it in return.

"Sasuke-kun! You don't have to listen to them!" Sakura said, panicking.

"They're right. We have to be at full strength in order to get the bell." Sasuke said.

"Besides, it's not a healthy to skip meals or else you'll be weaker than an old cat lady, Haruno." Kagome said. Sakura huffed and turned her head away. Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke glanced at each other and shrugged. As soon as Sasuke took a bite, dark clouds covered the sky and thunder roared from the clouds. Kakashi appeared in front of them with a really scary look on his face.

"YOU!" Kakashi yelled. Sakura screamed while the other three stood up.

"It's all their fault, Kakashi-sensei! I was the only one obeying the rules!" Sakura said, trying to sell them out. Even though she didn't want to sell out Sasuke.

"I hope you're all ready for punishment!" Kakashi said, "Any last words?"

" **Hai**." Kagome and Naruto said. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura looked towards Kagome and Naruto.

" **Do we pass?** " Kagome and Naruto asked at the same time. Kakashi blinked in shock, but instantly wiped it away and turned back into his angry face.

"YOU...pass." Kakashi said the last word in a cheery voice. Kagome and Naruto sweat dropped when Kakashi said the last word. They were surprised that he could easily change moods so fast.

"How did you two know?" Sasuke asked, looking at the two young ninjas.

"Those who don't follow the rules are scum." Kagome began.

"But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Naruto finished, smiling.

"Hai, because of that, you all passed the test." Kakashi said. All of them cheered except for Sasuke who only smirked.

"Tomorrow, we have our first mission. So don't be late." Kakashi said as he turned around.

"Kakashi-sensei." Kagome said. Kakashi stopped in his steps and looked over his shoulder.

"Could you take us out for lunch?" Kagome asked.

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, Sasuke-kun and Haruno didn't have breakfast nor lunch. So I think, as our sensei, you should treat us for passing the test." Kagome said.

"Also, if you do, we'll return this." Naruto said as he took out something from his pocket.

"MY BOOK?!" Kakashi exclaimed. He thought his book had been turned to ashes by Kagome's fire technique. Kakashi sighed and said,

"Alright, I'll treat you to lunch."

" **Yeah!** " Kagome and Naruto cheered at the same time. Kakashi was amazed at what happened today. He couldn't believe that two of his four students were able to outsmart him. He had a feeling that the two will continue to surprise him in the near future.

* * *

 _We talk a lot about hope, helping, and teamwork. Our whole message is that we are more powerful together._

 _-_ Victoria Osteen

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Jutsu:**

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Katon: Kitsune no hi Jutsu - Fire Release: Fox Fire Technique


	4. Protect the Bridge Builder

Chapter 3: Protect the Bridge Builder

The mission for today for Team 7 was to retrieve someone's pet. A D-rank mission to be most precise. None of them were really excited about this mission, but they had to do it anyway. Team 7 got into their positions to capture the pet. Sasuke and Sakura were behind the bushes of where they got perfect visual of their target: a cat. Kagome and Naruto were somewhere else at the time because they had their own plan. Sakura shot towards the cat. She grabbed onto the cat's legs just before it could enter the bushes.

"Got ya!" Sakura said, smiling. But then her smile disappeared when the cat glared at her. It turned around with a glare in its feline eyes and rewarded her with scratches. Sakura let go of the cat in order to stop receiving more scratches. Then the cat took off. Sakura was clutching her face, whining about the cat that 'ruined her beautiful face'. Sasuke sighed when he saw her mental state. He couldn't believe he had her for a teammate.

 _Haruno is a hopeless case, huh Naruto-kun?_ Kagome thought, sighing as she heard Sakura's cry. Then Naruto sighed as well.

 _I have to agree with you on that one, Kagome-chan._ Naruto thought. Kagome and Naruto were in a different position not far from Sasuke and Sakura. They heard rustling and a cat appeared in the clearing. It spotted the fried fish on a stick that was standing in the ground. It walked over and started eating the fish that Kagome and Naruto had left out for bait. The cat looked up at Kagome and walked over to her and jumped into her arms. Kirara started to hiss with jealousy as she sat on Naruto's right shoulder, glaring at the cat who was receiving Kagome's attention.

"Don't worry, Kirara. You're still my favorite cat." Kagome said as she pet the cat who was purring at the gentleness of Kagome's fingers. Kirara mewed in happiness, the glaring look gone.

"Before you give the cat anymore comfort, did you find a bow on its left ear?" Kakashi asked through the microphone.

"Hai, found it." Naruto said, spotting the dark pink ribbon on the cat's ear.

"Alright, mission complete. Tora, lost pet, has been found." Kakashi said.

* * *

 _I'm starting to feel sorry for the cat._ Kagome thought.

 _Me, too._ Naruto thought. The both of them, even Kirara, sweat dropped as they watched the cat nearly being suffocated by its owner.

"The cat deserves to be suffocated after what it did to me." Sakura huffed while crossing her arms. Unfortunately no one heard her because the others stared and sweat dropped at the sight of the cat attempting to escape its owner tight grasp. The lady paid the Hokage and left afterwards. When the Hokage told them more of D-rank missions, Naruto finally snapped.

"I'm tired of all these chores! I want a real mission!" Naruto yelled.

 _ **This was going to happen sooner or later**._ Kagome, Sasuke, and Kakashi thought with a sweat drop on the back of their heads. On the other hand, Sakura thought he was being annoying.

"Naruto! You're still genin! You have no experience and you have to do D-rank missions until you can improve your skills!" Iruka said with a tick mark on the back of his head.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that if we keep taking all of these D-rank missions?" Kagome asked. Everyone looked at Kagome, surprised that she was agreeing with Naruto.

"Not to be rude or anything, we won't be able to improve if we continue doing these missions. In order to do that, we need a chance to show our sensei of what we're capable of. Right, Naruto-kun?" Kagome asked as she turned to Naruto. He nodded.

"Hai, we want a better mission!" Naruto said.

"I agree with Kagome-chan and Naruto. How else are going to improve ourselves?" Sasuke asked. He also agreed with Kagome's logic. He was also getting tired of these low rank missions. Besides, he wasn't in the mood for babysitting anyway.

Sarutobi was surprised to hear that Kagome, Naruto, and even Sasuke wanted a better mission. It was true that Naruto wasn't the same boy who always did pranks to cause attention. He seemed to have better himself with the help of Kagome. Maybe Kagome is right, they do need a chance to improve themselves. He wondered if _this_ mission will work out for them.

"Alright then, I will give a C-rank mission." Sarutobi said. Everyone brightened at the news of a C-rank mission.

"You will be bodyguards for this mission." Sarutobi said.

"So who are we guarding? A feudal lord? A princess?" Naruto asked, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun." Kagome said. Naruto stood still.

 _I don't think we're quite ready for a lord or princess yet, Naruto-kun. We might get someone with a low social status._ Kagome thought.

 _Like who?_ Naruto thought, confused.

"Bring him in." Sarutobi said. The door opened and a old man who looked drunk appeared. You could easily tell by the pink color across the nose area and the bottle of sake in his left hand.

 _So_ this _is the guy we're guarding?_ Naruto thought, staring at the drunken man.

 _I'm afraid so, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought with a sweat drop on the back of her head, _On the bright side, at least we don't have to do weed picking._

 _I would rather call that more of the dim side, Kagome-chan._ Naruto thought, his left brow twitching.

 _Hai._ Kagome thought, the corner of her lips started to twitch.

"So these are my bodyguards?" The man asked after he chugged down the last contents of the bottle of sake, "A bunch of snot-nosed kids?"

That grew a tick mark on the side of Kagome's and Naruto's heads, including Kirara who hissed at the man. But everyone else sweat dropped at the comment.

"So who are you?" Sakura asked.

"I'm Tazuna, an expert bridge builder. You'll escort me back to my land safely at the cost of your lives." Tazuna said.

"Don't worry! You'll get you there safely!" Naruto said with a thumb up while grinning. Tazuna turned his eyes towards Naruto and scoffed.

"I'm not so sure that I can trust my life to this idiot." Tazuna said. Another tick mark appeared on Naruto's forehead. Kagome quickly held him back from attacking the rude man. Even though she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but they can't kill the client. Even if he's just plain rude.

 _This is going to be one_ long _mission._ Kagome thought with a sigh.

* * *

Kagome's mother wished her and Naruto good luck on their first mission outside of the village. Kagome could easily tell that Naruto was very excited about traveling outside of the village. She and Kirara were excited as well. Traveling outside started to remind her of her adventures around the feudal era. They met up with the rest of their team and Tazuna at the village gate. On the other side of the gate, Kagome sensed that someone was watching them. But what now caught her attention was when Tazuna said a rude remark about Naruto. Then Naruto began fighting a battle of pride with Tazuna. Kagome luckily broke up the fight before it got even worse.

 _I can't believe we have to protect this drunk!_ Naruto thought, angrily.

 _I fully agree with you, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought, sighing.

"So Haruno." Kagome said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Are you excited about leaving the village?" Kagome asked, smiling.

"Of course." Sakura said, huffed.

"You're screaming with excitement on the inside, aren't you?" Kagome asked, smiling smugly.

"NO I'M NOT!" Sakura screamed at Kagome.

 _ **She so is**._ Kagome and Naruto thought at the same time.

"Are you sure I can trust these kids?" Tazuna asked, turning towards Kakashi.

"Don't worry, I'm a jounin." Kakashi said. Tazuna's expression changed at that moment.

"We're all good?" Kakashi asked and everyone nodded, "Then let's go."

* * *

"So Kakashi-sensei, are there any ninja is the Country of Waves?" Sakura asked as she walked next to Kakashi.

"No, there aren't." Kakashi said, "This is a C-rank mission. There won't be any battles."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she won't have to fight. She glared at Kagome as she walked between Naruto and Sasuke. She couldn't figure out why Sasuke wanted to be near Kagome. Sasuke had never shown interest in any girl during the academy. What does Sasuke see in Kagome?

 _There's a smell of water up ahead._ Kagome thought.

 _Is there a river nearby?_ Naruto thought.

 _No, by how small the scent is, it must be a puddle._ Kagome thought.

 _A puddle? Last time I checked, it hasn't rain in days. Not to mention it's sunny out._ Naruto thought.

 _Exactly._ Kagome thought.

 _Does that mean?_ Naruto thought.

 _Hai, we're being followed._ Kagome thought.

 _Are you sure?_ Naruto thought.

 _I sensed two auras near us since we left the village gate._ Kagome thought.

 _So how are we going to handle it?_ Naruto thought.

 _Something tells me that Kakashi-sensei already has a plan._ Kagome thought.

 _Really?_ Naruto thought.

 _Hai, we'll just go along with it._ Kagome thought.

 _Gotcha ya._ Naruto thought. A few minutes later, two figures with iron claws appeared out of nowhere and threw their metal chains that wrapped around Kakashi in a vice grip. With a powerful yank of the chain, Kakashi was sliced into pieces.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura screamed. Everyone's eyes widened with shock when the chains was yanked.

"One down." The first ninja said as he headed towards Naruto.

"Kirara, protect Tazuna!" Kagome said as Kirara left her shoulder. She quickly rushed towards Naruto, who stood frozen, as the chains were headed towards him. She stood in front of Naruto and summoned a barrier. The chains bounced off the barrier and Kagome grabbed one of the chains and pulled the ninja towards her. She punched the ninja in the face and he landed smack against the tree behind him. Sasuke kicked the second ninja into a tree who tried to attack Kagome's unprotected back. The first ninja recovered quickly from Kagome's attack and headed straight towards Sakura who was standing in front of Tazuna with a kunai in hand. Suddenly, Naruto and Kagome were in front of her. Naruto held his kunai against the ninja's right claw while Kagome held her katana against the ninja's left claw. Both of them pushed one of their legs on the ninja's chest and shoving him away. The ninja stumbled and headed straight for them once more. Sasuke rushed to the four of them. Unexpectedly, someone caught the ninja in a headlock.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're alive!" Sakura cried out with tears of relief in her eyes when they saw their beloved sensei holding both of the ninjas in a headlock who were struggling in his tight grip on each arm.

"Yo." Kakashi said in a carefree tone. Naruto was pointing at him with shock and then he turned at the spot where his sensei was torn to pieces. There was a pile of torn pieces of wood.

 _You thought he was torn to pieces, huh?_ Kagome thought.

 _Yeah, for a few seconds._ Naruto thought.

 _Right._ Kagome thought, sarcastically.

"Well done, Kagome, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto. Especially you, Kagome." Kakashi said. Then he heard a sad mew near his feet. He looked down and saw Kirara with her ears down.

"Of course, you too, Kirara." Kirara mewed happily at the compliment.

* * *

Shortly after that, Kakashi tied up the two ninjas to a tree. Real tight.

"How did you know we were following you?" The first ninja asked.

" **Use your head, you idiots**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time.

"What?" The second ninja asked, confused.

"There was a rain puddle on the side of the road." Kagome said, "It hasn't rain in days."

"Plus, it sunny out." Naruto said while pointing at the clear sky.

" **A puddle shouldn't even be there**." Kagome and Naruto said.

"Correct." Kakashi said.

"If you knew that, why did you let the kids fight?" Tazuna asked. He couldn't believe that this man would let his students fight against two ninjas that could have killed them. Kakashi turned towards Tazuna.

"Tazuna, I need to talk to you. These two are chuunin-level ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village. They're known to fight no matter the cost." Kakashi said, "Genin are not suppose to risk their lives. We're suppose to protect you from armed robbers or gangs, not ninjas. In other words...this isn't a C-rank mission. It's a B-rank."

Tazuna looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry."

Kagome caught the scent of blood in the air. She traced it which lead to Naruto's left hand.

"Naruto-kun, you're injured." Kagome said, pointing at Naruto's hand, which was bleeding.

"This mission is too advance for us. Let's go back." Sakura said, "We need anesthesia to get the poison out of Naruto and find a doctor!"

Naruto clenched his fists at the thought of not finishing the mission. He quickly took out a kunai from his holster and pierced it into his wound. Everyone's eyes widened as his blood squirted out and dripped onto the kunai.

"Naruto, what the heck are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed when she saw Naruto made his wound even worse.

"I _will_ be stronger. I've accomplished many missions up til now. I've trained everyday with Kagome and Uncle Koichi. I'm never going to turn my back on someone who needs my help. I'm never going to get frightened again and back out of things. I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO SASUKE! I vow on the pain in my left hand that I will protect the old man with this kunai!" Naruto said. Kagome's eyes widened at the look in Naruto's blue eyes. It was a look that showed courage and determination. Someone who has the guts to fight against his opponents and never back down. Then she realized the situation.

"That's great and all that you got the poison out spiritedly, Naruto-kun. But we won't be able to continue the mission if you die from blood loss." Kagome said, pointing at his hand that had his kunai pierced in it. Naruto's eyes slowly widened when he stared at his wound. There was a silence as his mind began to process the situation.

3…2...1…

"AAAAAHHHHH! NOOOOOOOO!" Naruto yelled while letting out tears that came out like sprinklers and waving his arms up and down at a rapid pace. Everyone sweat dropped at the sight. Kagome quickly caught his wounded hand and used her miko-ki to heal it. She cleaned off the blood and put some medicine on it.

"Kagome-chan, why are you putting medicine on a wound that's already healed?" Naruto asked.

"It's to soothe your nerves which were pierced by your kunai. To make the pain go away for awhile." Kagome said as she finished wrapping the bandage around his hand.

* * *

A few hours later of walking, Team 7 along Tazuna sat in a boat with a rowing man steering the engine it. He cut the engine and started rowing with a oar. Just when Naruto was about to ask why the engine was cut off, Kagome gave him the explanation.

"We don't want be caught, Naruto. The engine causes too much attention." Kagome said.

"Oh, that's makes sense, Kagome-chan." Naruto said.

"Tazuna-san. Before we get to the pier, there's something I want to ask you." Kakashi said, "Who is the one that is after you and why? If you don't tell us, we will abandon the mission as soon as we port."

Tazuna was silent at that moment.

"Gatō is the one after you, right Tazuna-san?" Kagome asked, "Gatō, the marine transportation billionaire?"

"Hai, how did you know?" Tazuna asked. He was surprised that the girl knew who was after him. Everyone else, besides Naruto, were also surprised that she knew who Gatō was.

"I snuck into the Hokage tower a few times and looked up on some important things." Kagome said while scratching the back of her head. She gave them half of a truth. Her mom used to be a member of the ANBU before she became a mother. She also did peek into a few things of hers before she was finally caught. Luckily her mom wasn't mad at her for wanting to know more about the shinobi world.

"You did WHAT?!" Kakashi exclaimed. He couldn't believe that Kagome was capable of sneaking into the Hokage tower. Not to mention that she had the guts to do so. He was going to have a word with the Hokage _and_ her mother.

"I suppose I should tell you the real story." Tazuna began, "Gatō is one of the richest men in the world. On the outside, he's the president of a marine transportation company...but on the inside, he uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and illegal goods. He does terrible things like taking over other countries and companies as well. Around a year ago, he set his sights on the Country of Waves and entered it with violence and wealth as his shield, which quickly took over the sea traffic and transportation." Tazuna paused before continuing, "An island like our own, controlling the sea means ruling over the wealth, the politics, and the people of this island. The one thing that Gatō is terrified of is the completion of the bridge that has been under construction for quite awhile now."

"So that's why he fears you, because you're an expert bridge builder." Sakura said.

"Then those ninjas from earlier were hired by Gatō." Sasuke said.

"But there's one thing I don't understand. We now know that he's a dangerous man who uses ninjas. Then why did you hide that fact when you came to us for help?" Kakashi asked.

"Financial problems." Kagome said, catching everyone's attention.

"Hai. We're a poor country and we couldn't afford a B-rank mission or above." Tazuna said, "I apologize for not being honest with you from the beginning. I will understand if you wish to abandon this mission."

"Are you that dense, Tazuna-san?" Kagome asked.

"What?" Tazuna asked, confused yet angry that the girl called him 'dense'.

"Didn't you listen to Naruto's vow earlier? He vowed that we would get you home safely." Kagome said, "Once we start a mission, we follow it to the very end."

"Well, there's your answer." Kakashi said, grinning underneath his mask.

"Thank you so much." Tazuna said with a small bow of his head. He felt relieved that they will finish the mission.

"Well then, let's get you home safely, Tazuna-san." Kagome said, smiling.

* * *

They were glad that they weren't caught when they reached the pier. They spent the rest of the way walking. Soon after, Naruto and Sasuke were having a who-can-look-cool-while-walking competition. Everyone sweat dropped at the sight. Later, Kagome noticed that Naruto was looking jumpy for some reason.

 _Naruto-kun, what's wrong with you? You look a little bit jumpy._ Kagome thought.

 _I feel like something following us._ Naruto thought.

 _I feel the same._ Kagome thought. Unexpectedly, Naruto threw a kunai in a random direction.

"Naruto, what the heck are you doing?!" Sakura screeched as hit Naruto on the head.

"Something is following us, I swear!" Naruto whined, cradling his head with his hands. Kirara jumped off Kagome's shoulder and went near the location where Naruto threw his kunai. She mewed and pointed towards the bushes. Kagome walked over to investigate. When she got there, she saw a white rabbit laying on the ground twitching, petrified to be most precise.

"Um, guys." Kagome said, pointing to the white rabbit.

"Look what you did, Naruto!" Sakura yelled as Kagome picked up the rabbit.

"I'm so sorry, little rabbit." Naruto said to the white rabbit as Kagome handed the rabbit over to him. She noticed something strange about the rabbit. Kakashi was focusing on the rabbit as well.

 _A snow rabbit. The color…_ Kakashi thought.

 _A snow rabbit's fur only changes to white during the winter time. So then that means-!_ Kagome thought. Then she heard a twig snap. She quickly summoned Hiraikotsu.

"Kagome, what are you…" Sakura began to say.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" Kagome yelled as she threw Hiraikotsu over their heads, which banged into a giant blade that was about to decapitate them. The blade lodged itself onto a large tree trunk. A figure appeared on the blade's hilt. It was a male, around Kakashi's age. He had short spiky hair, brown eyes, and the bottom half of his face was covered by bandages. He was shirtless with two belts that formed an 'X' shape on the front of his chest and on his back. He wore matching cameo arm warmers that went from his wrist to his elbow and leg warmers along with baggy pants with pinstriped pattern and black ninja shoes. Lastly, he wore a hitai-ate with the symbol of the Hidden Village of the Mist on it which was slanted sideways on his head.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi said.

* * *

 _Lying is the most simple form of self-defence._

 _-_ Susan Sontag


	5. Demon of the Mist

Chapter 4: Demon of the Mist

"Kagome-chan, who is that?" Naruto asked. He knew that Kagome would have knowledge on anything in the shinobi world.

"Momochi Zabuza, an exiled jounin ninja from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Kagome said, "He was on the Hidden Village of the Mist assassination squad known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. At least that was written in the Bingo Books, correct?" Kagome asked, glancing at Zabuza who smirked underneath his bandages. He was impressed with her knowledge about him.

"What's a Bingo Book?" Naruto asked, confused.

"A black book that contain lists of dangerous shinobi from rival villages that are distributed to high ranking officials. Jounin and ANBU members to be most exact. The lists contain missing-nin or security threats that are to be eliminated." Kagome said, "You're also in the Bingo book as well, Kakashi-sensei."

Everyone stared at her in shock. Kakashi especially. As she said, only jounin level shinobi have Bingo Books. He guessed that she must have read some of the Bingo books that are stored at the Hokage tower. Everyone was having a hard time believing that their sensei is a high ranking shinobi who's known to be a threat to other shinobi villages.

"It seems like you did your homework, little girl." Zabuza said, chuckled.

"Let's just say I'm quite studious when it comes to the shinobi world." Kagome said, smirking.

"Interesting." Zabuza said, "I presume that the man next to you is Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye?"

Sasuke stiffened when Zabuza mentioned the 'Sharingan'. Sasuke knew that only certain members of the Uchiha clan have the Sharingan. He glanced at Kakashi with suspicion.

 _How does Kakashi-sensei have the Sharingan when he's not even an Uchiha?_ Sasuke thought. At that moment, Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate and opened his eyes. His left eye revealed the Sharingan eye.

 _That's the Sharingan?_ Naruto thought when he saw Kakashi's left eye.

 _Hai._ Kagome thought.

 _Uncle Koichi also has the Sharingan, right?_ Naruto thought.

 _Hai._ Kagome thought, _The Sharingan is very rare. It's able to see and copy a person's jutsus._

 _That's amazing._ Naruto thought.

"I'm honored to be in the presence of the shinobi who is able to copy over a thousand jutsus." Zabuza said, "Give me the old man and I just might let you all live."

"I'm afraid that I have to refuse, Zabuza." Kakashi said.

"Very well then." Zabuza said as he disappeared from the tree and appeared on a lake in front of them as he performed hand signs for a water technique, "Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Suddenly, a mist surrounded Team 7 and Tazuna. It blanketed the area, hiding Zabuza's presence.

"Everyone don't let your guard down. Get into Manji formation." Kakashi said. The four ninjas nodded their heads and went into position to protect Tazuna. Soon enough, Kakashi vanished into the mist as well. Before Sakura could cry out for their sensei, Naruto interrupted her.

"Kagome-chan, what is this?" Naruto asked, slightly nervous.

"Part of Zabuza's 'Silent Killing' technique. It's a simple quiet method of killing an opponent. Because of the user being silent, you don't even realize you're dead before it's too late." Kagome said. Naruto and Sakura gulped while Sasuke stayed silent. Seeing that everyone was looking in different directions, Kagome closed her eyes and focused her chakra and miko-ki into her eyes. Then said a word in her mind,

 _Mikomegan._

It felt like minutes went by. Then hours. Everyone was starting to feel edgy because of the silence in the mist. Until they heard an eerie voice.

"8 parts." Zabuza echoed all around. Everyone flinched at Zabuza's voice. They couldn't pinpoint it.

"Legs...spine...kidney...artery...lungs...liver...jugular...heart." Zabuza said, "Which one should I strike first?"

Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine. Naruto was starting to tremble while holding onto his kunai. Sasuke was also starting to tremble in his legs. All of them were on guard, they didn't want to die on their first mission together. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the voice. She, however, wasn't affected by it at the least. She had heard worse when she was in the feudal era. Half a minute later, she finally located Zabuza, he was coming towards them. Kakashi wasn't that far away as well. She could tell that her teammates were on edge. She let out some of her aura, to calm them. Then Kakashi appeared with a hand seal that blew most of the mist so that they can all see each other.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you all. I won't let my comrades die." Kakashi said over his shoulder while smiling underneath his mask, "Trust me."

When they saw his smile, they felt a little at ease.

 _That doesn't mean that I will let you die, too Kakashi-sensei._ Kagome thought. She tensed when she saw Zabuza appeared in the middle of their formation. She summoned Banryū into her hands.

"Is that so, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked as he was about to turn and attack Tazuna. At the last second, Kagome appeared in front of him and blocked his Kubikiribōchō with Banryū.

"Don't underestimate us, Zabuza." Kagome said as she held onto Banryū, pushing against Zabuza. While they were still pushing against each other, Zabuza's eyes widened when he gazed into Kagome's eyes; the irises were pink with an eight point star pattern in both eyes.

"Kirara, protect Tazuna!" Kagome yelled. Kirara jumped off her shoulder and stood near Tazuna. Kagome pushed Zabuza out of the formation and she followed after him. Their swords clashed again and again. Zabuza couldn't believe that this female genin was able to match him in speed and strength. Not to mention the sword she was carrying. It looked heavy and bigger than her.

* * *

Kakashi was surprised at this. He couldn't believe that Kagome was fighting against Zabuza. The sword she was carrying looked even heavier than Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō. As he watched the two battle, he was amazed that Kagome was on the same level of strength as Zabuza. Maybe even more. With his Sharingan still active, he noticed the enormous amount of chakra in her body, but there was something else, a power he couldn't identify. The pattern in her eyes is also what intrigued him as well.

Sasuke was amazed at this as well. He never knew that Kagome could handle the weapon she had in her hands. What surprised him the most was the pattern he saw in Kagome's eyes. He had never seen any kind of pattern like that before. What did it mean?

* * *

"Let's finish this!" Kagome said as she swung Banryū at Zabuza. When she sliced him with Banryū, it turned out to be a water clone. Zabuza appeared behind her with his blade aimed at her.

"It's over." Zabuza said as he sliced her with his blade. 'Kagome' collapsed into water. Then Zabuza felt a kunai against _his_ neck. Zabuza smirked at that. Kagome narrowed at Zabuza's smirk. She nipped him with her kunai. He turned into water. She sensed him behind her and dove into the lake nearby to avoid his next lethal attack. Zabuza followed her to into the water. When Kagome got out of the water, her hair was limp as water was dripping from it and her ninja clothes were soaked. Then she noticed something strange about the water.

 _The water, it feels...heavy._ Kagome thought.

"Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted. Kagome's eyes widened when she saw Zabuza in front of her.

" **Kagome!** " Everyone shouted when the water quickly caged her in. Kagome felt like she was being held down by a ton of bricks. She couldn't move any part of her body at all. She now knew that this was a prison technique. The user has to keep one arm inside the sphere at all times in order to keep the victim imprisoned. She was truly helpless right now.

"Kagome!" Naruto shouted as he started to run towards her. But stopped when he heard her voice.

"Stay away, Naruto!" Kagome shouted, "Don't worry about me! Just get Tazuna-san back home!"

"There's no way we're leaving you behind Kagome!" Naruto shouted.

"Do you think we would leave you like this, Kagome-chan?" Sasuke asked. Kagome's eyes widened and shook at the look she saw in Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes. They looked familiar to her. But where had she seen them before?

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" Zabuza shouted as two water figures came out of the water. The figures settled into the form of Zabuza. Sasuke rushed forward to attack the water clone, but he got pushed back by Zabuza's powerful kick.

"You should quit being ninjas. You're not even qualified to be one." Zabuza said, "When I was your age, my hands were already dyed with blood."

"What?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"Back then I was known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Zabuza said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, horrified.

"Long ago in the Hidden Village of the Mist, which was also known as the Blood Mist Village. The final part of the exam to becoming a ninja was a fight to the death between students. You fight against those you trained with, ate lunches with, and sat down together with. The last one standing..." Kagome said with sadness in her voice, "...is the victor."

"Ah, that was a great day. So much blood was spilled. I enjoyed it." Zabuza said, chuckling darkly.

"How horrible." Sakura said, her eyes widened in horror. The other three genin couldn't believe that a Hidden village would do such an exam. It was too cruel and wrong to kill your own comrades.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as ten shadow clones appeared in front of him. Then they charged towards Zabuza's water clone. But Zabuza pushed them all away with his Kubikiribōchō. As Naruto was being pushed away, he dug into his backpack and took out a certain ninja weapon.

"Sasuke, catch!" Naruto said as he threw the weapon to Sasuke, who was closer to the other clone. Sasuke caught the weapon and unfolded the four blades. He leaped up into the air and threw the weapon.

"Fūma Shuriken!" Sasuke yelled as he released the weapon. The shuriken sliced through the water clones and headed towards the real Zabuza. But he was able to catch it with ease.

"Smart, but not smart enough." Zabuza said.

"There!" Naruto shouted as he threw a kunai towards Zabuza. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto's kunai coming towards him. Having no other choice, he removed his arm from the water sphere. The water prison broke, leaving Kagome soaked while breathing heavily for needed air.

"You're gonna pay for that, Zabuza." Kagome said as she stood up with water soaked clothes.

"Oh really?" Zabuza asked, smirking with his left brow arched.

"Yeah, I'll make sure you pay it in full." Kagome said, smirking. At a rapid pace, they both performed the same hand signs.

" **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!** " Both of them shouted in sync as two dragons rose out of the water and twirled around each other until they rammed into themselves.

"Impossible!" Zabuza shouted when both of the dragon's forms fell back into the water. Kagome quickly performed another set of hand signs.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kagome shouted as a typhoon of water burst from her mouth and shot towards Zabuza. The force of the typhoon shoved him towards a tree. He slid down onto the ground. He felt like the wind just got knocked out of him.

"It's over." Kagome said. Zabuza looked up and his eyes widened when he saw Kagome right above him with a kunai in hand. Before Kagome could finish the fight, two senbon needles were stabbed into Zabuza's neck. His body slumped against the tree. Kagome jumped down from the tree and glanced at Zabuza's body. She looked to where the needles had come from. She saw a figure on a tree branch not that far from them. The figure was a male dressed in the Kirigakure pinstriped outfit where the baggy pants stopped at the knees. He wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice over the pinstriped outfit. On his feet, he wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as his kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color. He had long black hair that was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his hair fell loose framing his face that were bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. The mask on him was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth. The Hidden Village of the Mist symbol etched on the forehead part.

"Judging by the mask you're wearing, you must be a hunter-nin from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Kagome said, staring at the hunter-nin.

"Indeed I am." The hunter-nin said, giving a nod. Kagome knew that the hunter-nin was a male. He looked about Naruto's age. Probably hasn't reached puberty yet.

"Kakashi-sensei." Kagome said, not breaking eye contact with the hunter-nin.

"Hai?" Kakashi asked.

"Could you check Zabuza?" Kagome asked.

"Hai." Kakashi said as he walked over Zabuza's slumped form. He kneel down and placed two fingers on Zabuza's neck. He felt no pulse.

"He's dead." Kakashi said as he stood up.

"Thank you." The hunter-nin said.

"Who the heck is he, Kagome-chan?" Naruto asked, narrowing his blue eyes at the hunter-nin.

"A hunter-nin. They assassinate exiled ninjas like Zabuza who are a threat to their village in order to conceal their secrets from getting out." Kagome said. The hunter-nin disappeared in a whirl of leaves and reappeared in the same manner next to Zabuza.

"Your battle is over. This body holds many secrets. I'll handle the rest." The hunter-nin said as he hoisted Zabuza's body over his shoulder and disappeared in a whirl of leaves once more. The mist soon cleared up, everything was back to the way it was before Zabuza's arrival. Kagome let out a sigh of relief as the pattern in her eyes disappeared while Kakashi put his hitai-ate over his Sharingan. They were safe, for now. Then she sensed a disturbance in Naruto's aura. She had a pretty good guess that Naruto felt like he was unable to defeat Zabuza while the hunter-nin did it like no problem.

"Naruto-kun," Kagome said, gaining Naruto's attention, "There are some people who are younger than me yet stronger than me. Don't be discouraged by this battle."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. He knew that she was right. He felt helpless during the battle with Zabuza. He couldn't even lay a finger on him. Kagome was on equal ground with Zabuza. But he understood her words; get stronger in order to defeat the opponent next time.

"Well then, let's get going." Kagome said as she started to walk towards them. But she only took three steps until she collapsed. Before she hit the ground, Kakashi rushed over and caught her in his arms.

"Kagome!" Naruto said as he, Sasuke, and Kirara ran over to her. Kirara started mewing in panic for her master. She didn't expect her to use so much of her powers in one battle.

"Don't worry, she's just exhausted. She just needs some rest is all." Kakashi said, looking down at her unconscious form. She looked so innocent while she stayed in his arms. He couldn't believe that she would get so exhausted so quickly. Not to mention that she was able to perform those high-level techniques. He didn't know that she could do that.

"You can all rest at my house in the village." Tazuna said, walking over to them. It was the least he could do for them. After all, they were risking their lives to get him back home.

"Thank you, that's much appreciated." Kakashi said as he lifted Kagome into his arms, bridal style. Then Kirara jumped onto his shoulder. As he carried her, many thoughts began to enter his mind.

 _She was able to fight Zabuza, who is at a jounin level. I've never seen that kind of power before. That pattern in her eyes as well._ Kakashi thought, _Her weapons as well. I didn't know that she can handle that kind of weight._

Kakashi knew at that moment that Kagome Higurashi, was no ordinary kunoichi.

* * *

 _There are people who are very highly paid to cover the truth and who will protect their clients._

 _-_ Mary Hart

* * *

 **A/N:** The eight point star pattern in Kagome's eyes is composed of two interlocking squares. See _Inuyasha: The Final Act_ Episode 16. Kagome's mother draws it.

 **Jutsu:**

Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu - Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique

Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu - Water Release: Water Prison Technique

Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu - Water Clone Technique

Kage Bunshin no jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu - Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu - Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique

Mikomegan - Eye of the Priestess Technique


	6. Family, Losses, Pain, and Heroes

Chapter 5: Family, Losses, Pain, and Heroes

Kagome opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She was laying in a futon. The last thing she remembered was fighting Zabuza and the hunter-nin ending Zabuza's life. Then the hunter-nin taking Zabuza's body and the mist was cleared. Soon after everything went black.

"Oh good, you're awake." A female voice said. Kagome turned her head to the side and saw a woman with long dark blue hair sitting beside her. She was wringing the water out of the towel over a bowl.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked, gazing at the woman.

"My name is Tsunami." The woman said, smiling at Kagome.

"I'm Kagome." Kagome said with a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome-chan." Tsunami said. When Kagome looked at her, she was reminded of both of her mom from Tokyo and her other mom in Konoha. It was weird how she was able to meet another female who reminded of her mom. Then she heard the door to the room opened. Naruto, Kirara, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura walked into the room; relieved that Kagome was finally awake, except Sakura though. Tazuna came in a minute later.

"How are you feeling, Kagome-chan?" Naruto asked as he sat next to the futon. Then Sasuke sat next to Naruto. Sakura sat next to Sasuke. Kakashi sat at the end of the futon.

"Other than having a splitting headache, I'm fine." Kagome said as she pet Kirara who sat in her lap. She didn't expect that the 'eye' would require so much of her energy. She had to make sure not to use it too much.

"Please don't do that again, Kagome-chan. You really scared us there." Naruto said, worried.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that, Naruto-kun." Kagome said, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"By the way, what was that pattern we saw in your eyes?" Kakashi asked. Kagome was silent at that moment. She knew that they all saw her eyes during the battle. She remembered when she first received the 'eyes'. Midoriko appeared in her dreams when she was ten years old.

Flashback:

 _Kagome opened her eyes and saw herself in a training ground. She was wondering how she got here. Then she saw a familiar figure walking towards her._

" _Hello, Kagome." Midoriko said when she stopped in front of Kagome._

" _Midoriko-sama, what are we doing here?" Kagome asked._

" _I came to give you a gift, Kagome." Midoriko said._

" _A gift?" Kagome asked, confused._

" _A kekkei genkai." Midoriko said._

" _A kekkei genkai?" Kagome asked._

" _Hai, you'll be the first one to receive this eye technique." Midoriko said._

" _Really?" Kagome asked, excited._

" _Hai. It's called Mikomegan." Midoriko said._

" _Mikomegan?" Kagome asked, her head tilted to the left._

" _Eye of the Priestess Technique." Midoriko said._

" _What does it do?" Kagome asked._

" _It's like the advancement of the Sharingan and the Byakugan combined. You're allowed to use any nature transformation your opponent is using once you sense his aura. You're also able to sense anyone who has a hidden presence. You'll be able to see anyone's true form if they disguise themselves. You advance in strength and speed as well. It protects you from any genjutsu, too." Midoriko said._

" _Wow, that sounds amazing!" Kagome said with excitement._

" _But there's a drawback to it. You'll use an enormous amount of chakra_ and _your miko-ki as well. So you'll be heavily exhausted afterwards." Midoriko said in a warning tone._

 _It made sense to Kagome. Every powerful technique required a certain amount of chakra, especially nature transformations. Like the fire techniques of the Uchiha clan. They 'burn' a lot of chakra from the user. Then it will be harder for them to use another nature transformation._

" _I understand, Midoriko-sama." Kagome said, nodded. Midoriko knelt in front of her and placed her hands on Kagome's shoulders. Midoriko had a worried look on her face._

" _It will be painful as I put it in, Kagome." Midoriko said, "Are you sure that you want to accept this gift?"_

" _Hai. I want to become a strong shinobi so that I can protect those who are precious to me and defeat the Akatsuki!" Kagome said with determination. Midoriko gave her a soft smile. She knew the young girl before her grew more determined everyday ever since she was reborn in the shinobi world. She had the strangest feeling that Kagome seemed to be much more happier living in this world._

" _Alright then." Midoriko said as she held out her hands and two small lights appeared in her palms. The lights shaped into a familiar pattern she had seen on Hitomiko's chest: the meaning of her name._

" _Are you ready, Kagome?" Midoriko asked._

" _Hai." Kagome said with a nod._

" _Now, close your eyes." Midoriko said._

" _Hai." Kagome said as she closed her eyes. She clutched onto her shorts as Midoriko placed her hands over Kagome's eyes. A stinging pain entered her eyes. It felt like her eyes were being disintegrated by Sesshomaru's poison. She bit her lip, trying not to scream out loud. After a few minutes went by, the pain finally stopped and a soothing feeling entered her eyes._

" _You can open your eyes now, Kagome." Midoriko said. Kagome slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Midoriko who was holding a mirror in front of her. Kagome looked into the mirror and was shocked to what she saw. Her irises were pink with the eight point star in each eye._

" _Wow." Kagome said, touching the corner of her eye._

" _Kagome." Midoriko said._

" _Hai?" Kagome asked, looking up at Midoriko._

" _You must promise me that you will not tell anyone about your eye technique." Midoriko said._

" _Why, Midoriko-sama?" Kagome asked._

" _If other shinobi find out about it, they'll do whatever they can to obtain it." Midoriko said, "This technique is very powerful and more advanced than the Sharingan and the Byakugan."_

" _I understand. But can I tell to those I trust with my life?" Kagome asked._

" _Hai. But for now, just wait." Midoriko said, "Promise me that you won't tell anyone."_

" _I promise, Midoriko-sama." Kagome said with a bright smile._

Flashback Ends

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, sensei." Kagome said.

"Why?" Kakashi asked, his brow arched.

"I promised." Kagome said.

"I understand." Kakashi said. He had feeling that she didn't want to tell them. But at the same time she wanted to. That eye technique was something he had never seen before. He wondered if she was able to create it somehow or maybe someone gave it to her. It made him really, really curious.

"Kakashi-sensei, I hate to tell you all this, but...Zabuza is still alive." Kagome said.

" **WHAT?!** " Everyone exclaimed, shocked. They thought Zabuza was dead!

"A-A-Are you sure?" Tazuna asked in disbelief.

"I thought you said he was dead when you checked him, sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I thought he was. Sorry." Kakashi said, "But how did you know, Kagome?"

"His actions made me feel suspicious of him." Kagome said.

"His actions?" Sasuke asked.

"The hunter-nin. Hunter-nin are supposed to dispose the body, not take the whole body. He would only need the head. Also, the senbon needles he used. They're rarely fatal when they hit an organ, not the neck area. They can make someone go into a death like state." Kagome said.

"So what you're saying is that…" Naruto began to say.

"Zabuza is still alive." Sasuke finished.

"Hai. That hunter-nin is his accomplice." Kagome said.

"This isn't good." Kakashi said, sighed. He didn't expect to run into this kind of problem. It'll probably be a week until Zabuza comes back. Not to mention it would take that same amount of time before Kagome could finally be ready to fight.

"Don't worry, I'll be up and ready by tomorrow, sensei." Kagome said, breaking Kakashi out of his thoughts.

"Alright then, we'll start training b-" Kakashi began to say.

"Why should you? It's a waste of time! You'll be dead anyway!" A voice piped near the doorway. Everyone turned and saw a young boy, around 7 or 8 years old, with raven hair wearing a green striped hat with green overalls standing in the doorway. For some reason, he looked angry.

"Inari, there you are!" Tazuna said, smiling when he spotted the boy.

"Grandpa!" Inari said, smiled while running towards Tazuna and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Inari, that was very rude. These ninjas escorted Grandpa here with their lives." Tsunami scolded with her hands on her hips.

"She's right, Inari. If it weren't for them, I never would have made it home alive." Tazuna said.

"They're not going to live long anyway, mom." Inari said as he released Tazuna and began to walk out of the room.

"Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked. Inari looked over his shoulder.

"To look at the ocean." Inari said and went around the corner of the hallway.

"Why that little…!" Naruto began to say with a tick mark on his forehead and clenching his fist in front of him. Then he stomped after him.

"Naruto-kun!" Kagome yelled. But he ignored her and followed after Inari. Kagome sighed. She guessed that he wouldn't listen to her this time. She hoped that he would listen the next time.

* * *

Naruto walked with fury towards Inari's room. Just when he was about to open the door, he heard crying. Through the crack of the door, he saw Inari holding onto a picture.

"Dad...why?" Inari asked as tears went down his cheeks and fell onto the picture in his hands. A picture of a man with a 'X' shaped scar on his chin. Outside of Inari's door, Naruto forgot about his anger and started to feel sorry for the young boy on the other side of the door.

* * *

"Since Kagome is still resting, we'll start our training." Kakashi said. Everyone had different thoughts about Kagome not training with them. For Naruto, he knew that she probably wanted to train with them. For Sasuke, he wanted to see more of her skills. For Sakura, she has a chance to show her skills to Sasuke (even though she doesn't have any). Then Naruto asked what "chakra" is. Sakura began her explanation.

 _Kagome-chan._ Naruto thought as he tried to reach Kagome's mind.

* * *

Kagome was sitting in the futon while reading one of the plant books that belong to her mom (in the Naruto world) with Kirara sitting in her lap. Then she started reading another book about the human body. After that, she started to read a book about nature transformations. She was trying to find some sort of weakness to Zabuza's water transformations. But she didn't know what the fake hunter-nin has. Which troubled her. Then she heard Naruto calling for her.

 _What is it, Naruto-kun?_ Kagome thought as she closed her book.

 _Could you mind telling me what "chakra" is again? Short version please. I'm starting to lose Haruno here._ Naruto thought as Sakura was explaining about "chakra".

 _It's the basic energy source for all jutsus. Both physical and spiritual._ Kagome thought.

 _Thanks, Kagome-chan. That's make it much more simpler than Haruno's version._ Naruto thought.

 _No problem. Now what are you doing for training?_ Kagome thought.

 _Don't know. Kakashi-sensei is about to tell us._ Naruto thought.

"So what will we be doing?" Sakura asked which brought Naruto out of his connection with Kagome.

"Climb a tree." Kakashi said.

" **Eh?** " Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura asked at the same time as their eyebrows twitched. Was their sensei trying to pull their leg or something?

"But the catch is that you can't use your hands." Kakashi said, his right eye crinkled into an upside down 'U' shape.

 _We're going to climb a tree without using our hands, Kagome-chan._ Naruto thought.

 _We did that lesson before, Naruto-kun. Remember, Uncle Koichi taught us._ Kagome thought.

 _Oh yeah! Now I remember! Thanks, Kagome-chan!_ Naruto thought.

 _You're welcome, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought.

* * *

Back to Naruto and the others:

Kakashi walked up into the tree without his hands. To them, Kakashi made it look so easy. Their sensei threw three kunais near his students' feet. They looked up at him.

"Make sure to mark your progress as well." Kakashi said. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura concentrated their chakra into their feet. Waiting for their sensei's signal.

"Are you all ready? On your mark, get set, GO!" Kakashi said. Everyone ran up into the trees. Sasuke managed to get halfway there before he fell, luckily he regained his balance.

"This is easier than I thought!"

Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura sitting on a branch in a tall tree. She smiled at her success.

"Well done, Haruno." Kakashi said. Sakura turned towards Sasuke, waiting for a compliment. But she never got it. Sasuke frowned and turned away. Sakura slumped her head down.

 _I thought Sasuke-kun would be impressed...instead I made him mad._ Sakura thought.

"Wait a minute, where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked, looking left and right. Sasuke and Sakura also looked left and right.

"Up here!" Naruto said. Everyone looked up and saw him standing on a tree branch higher than Sakura's. He was grinning with his arms crossed.

"Naruto-kun, where did you learn how to do that?" Sakura asked, tilted her head to the side. Sasuke and Kakashi were wondering the same thing as well.

"Uncle Koichi taught me and Kagome-chan this when we were little." Naruto said.

"Interesting." Kakashi said as he rubbed his chin. He didn't expect Naruto to get higher than Sakura. He began to wonder who this 'Uncle Koichi' is. From his point of view, he sounds like a highly talented jounin. But why would he teach Naruto and Kagome at early ages? Did he see potential in both of them? Perhaps he'll ask the Hokage when they get back or maybe their mother might know.

What they didn't know was that Inari was watching them. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew it was a waste of time for them to train. He also knew that they would die sooner or later.

* * *

Later at the bridge:

Sakura yawned as she sat by herself as Tazuna and the workmen worked on the bridge. While Naruto stood near the railing, staring at the water. To her point of view, it was starting to get boring as they watched Tazuna and workmen. She wondered how Naruto was able to get up higher than her when they climbed the trees. Well, he did say that 'Uncle Koichi' trained him and Kagome. She got curious about him. She knew that everyone hated Naruto ever since he was born except Kagome and her mother. Was it possible that one other adult who _didn't_ hate Naruto?

"Hey, where's that kid with the attitude?" Tazuna asked after Sakura yawned.

"Oh he's still training, climbing trees. But don't you worry, I was the best so I'm here to protect you." Sakura said as she flicked her bangs out of her face. Tazuna scoffed at her statement which caused her to glare at him.

"You, I don't believe. That Kagome girl, I can." Tazuna said.

"Oh yeah? What's wrong with me?" Sakura asked with a tick mark on her forehead.

"She looks more alert than you. Not as lazy either." Tazuna said, carrying more blocks of metal.

"I agree with you, Tazuna." Naruto said. Tazuna and Sakura turned towards Naruto who walked towards them.

"Kagome-chan has trained everyday so that she can become strong. She would train for hours until she got exhausted. She studied from every book she could find on the shinobi world. Kagome-chan wants to be a strong shinobi so that she can protect those who are precious to her." Naruto said.

"To my point of my view that girl is strong and smart as well." Tazuna said.

"Well, I'm stronger _and_ smarter than _her_." Sakura said, smugly.

"Did you know what a Bingo book was before Kagome explained it to us, Haruno?" Naruto asked.

"Of course." Sakura said, lying. Truth be told, she didn't even know that hunter-nins carried Bingo books. Actually, she never knew what a Bingo book was.

"Did you know that Kakashi-sensei was in the Bingo books?" Naruto asked.

"No." Sakura said with her head slumped down. She didn't know that her own sensei was a security threat. She couldn't believe that Kagome had that kind of knowledge. But she got it through trespassing into the Hokage tower! It was illegal information.

"Also Iruka-sensei said that you have very weak jutsus." Naruto said. A cloud of gloom hung over Sakura's head.

"That girl is strong I can tell you that." Tazuna said.

"Hai, she is." Naruto said, smiling. He was telling the truth. He knew that Kagome is already a strong and smart shinobi. He had a feeling that she would catch the attention of the Hokage. Actually, she might become the next Hokage. But Kagome had told him that she would help him become the next Hokage.

* * *

Kagome resumed to her readings as she sat in the futon when she finished her conversation with Naruto. She remembered the days when Uncle Koichi would come over and help them train. He was unsure when they both asked him about it. But he eventually gave in to the idea. Then she sensed an aura outside of the room.

"If you want to talk me, you should come in instead of hiding outside." Kagome said without turning her head away from her book. She heard the door open and footsteps coming towards her. She looked up and saw Inari staring at her.

"Is there something you wish to ask me?" Kagome asked.

"What are you reading?" Inari asked, pointing at the book.

"Oh, some books on the human body and nature transformation jutsus." Kagome said.

"Why do you need to read those?" Inari asked.

"To think of a strategy." Kagome said, going back to her reading.

"A strategy?" Inari asked as he sat near the futon.

"Hai. In order to defeat an enemy, you need a strategy. You have to know what your enemy's weakness and strengths are. I know that all powerful jutsus have drawbacks." Kagome said.

"Drawbacks?" Inari asked.

"Consequences. For fire transformations, they use up a lot of their energy in their first attack which makes it harder for them to use the same jutsu again. So I'm trying to find a weakness in any of the water transformations. But so far I only found lightning and can't seem to find anything else." Kagome said.

"Maybe you should take a break." Inari said.

"Perhaps you're right." Kagome said and then sighed after she closed the book. Kirara mewed, wanting more attention from her owner. Kagome smiled softly at Kirara and gently petted her. Kirara was purring as Kagome stroked her fur and started scratching behind her ears. Then she noticed that Inari was staring at her.

"Would you like to pet her?" Kagome asked. Inari looked up at Kagome and shyly nodded. Kirara jumped out of Kagome's lap and sat in front of Inari. He hesitantly placed his hand on top of her head and gently rubbed her ears. She instantly purred at the sensation.

"She likes you." Kagome said as Kirara jumped into Inari's arms and rubbed her cheek against his.

"You seem to have a close relationship with that blonde haired boy." Inari said.

"Naruto-kun? Well, he's my brother. But we're not blood related though." Kagome said.

"Why's that?" Inari asked, curious. Kagome had a sad expression on her face.

"Naruto-kun didn't have anyone when he was a baby. No one wanted to take care of him. But my mother decided to raise him as her own." Kagome said.

"Why did she decide to raise a child that wasn't her own?" Inari said, his head tilted to the side.

"No child should be left parentless. Naruto needed someone to love and care for him. For me, I treat him like a younger brother. But he's actually a week older than me." Kagome said with a small smile. At that moment, a picture of someone Inari knew appeared in his mind. A man around Kakashi's age who had short spiky brown hair and black eyes with a small white rope tied around his head and had an 'X' shaped scar on his chin. He had a heart warming smile on his face.

* * *

Sasuke:

Sasuke leaped down from the tree after he got a little farther up the tree. He had been training since Kakashi started the challenge. He had to get higher than Naruto and Sakura. He breathed heavily and sat against the tree. He began to wonder how hard Kagome trained to go against Zabuza. He knew that the man was a jounin with a bloodlust. When they were in the mist, he almost couldn't move his legs and a shiver went up his spine. Then he heard footsteps coming his way. He readied his kunai until he saw who came into his eye sight: Naruto. He didn't expect to see him here. Naruto walked up to him and held a water canteen and a rice ball.

"Kagome-chan said you need energy in order to continue training." Naruto said. He handed them to Sasuke who kindly took them. He undid the wrap and started eating the rice ball.

"Why aren't you at the bridge with Sakura?" Sasuke asked as Naruto sat down beside him.

"I went back to Tazuna's house to check on Kagome-chan. She wanted to make sure that you wouldn't overwork yourself. So she sent me." Naruto said, "Also, being near Haruno was starting to get annoying."

 _I can imagine._ Sasuke thought as he ate his rice ball. He knew that Sakura can be quite annoying without even knowing it. He opened the water canteen and took a gulp of cold water. After satisfying his thirst, he decided to bring up a certain question.

"Naruto." Sasuke said, staring at his half eaten rice ball.

"Hai?" Naruto asked.

"How did you managed to graduate from the academy?" Sasuke asked. No one had ever told him how he managed to graduate. It made him curious for some reason.

"As it turns out, I did pass. But Mizuki convinced Iruka-sensei that something was wrong with my shadow clone, which made me fail the test. He tricked me of another way of graduating. That's when I found out that I had the nine tailed kitsune sealed inside of me. The reason why everyone hated me. I used the shadow clone technique to beat the living daylights out of Mizuki after he severely injured Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, "Kagome-chan got a chance to beat him up as well."

He remembered how angry Kagome was when she found that Mizuki tricked him. Kagome hit him really hard at his private part. Mizuki groaned even louder at the pain. Luckily, he and Iruka-sensei were turned around at that time. Both of them winced when they heard his pain. Strangely enough, they felt no pity for him. After all, he did deserve it for everything bad deed he had done. When they turned him in, Kagome 'accidentally' dropped Mizuki onto the floor. He groaned a little bit after he was dropped to the ground.

"Another thing, who is this 'Uncle Koichi' you've mentioned earlier?" Sasuke asked. He wondered if that man was the one who helped Naruto and Kagome get stronger. He had to be a strong jounin in order to teach the two of them those ninja techniques.

"His name is Koichi Uchiha. He's a friend of Kagome-chan's mother." Naruto said.

"WHAT?!" Sasuke exclaimed. There was another Uchiha survivor?! How come no one never told him?!

"Hai. He's the one who trained me and Kagome as we grew up." Naruto said, "He's a really strong jounin. I've always looked up to him as an uncle like Iruka-sensei."

"Where was he on the night of the Uchiha massacre?" Sasuke asked. He wondered why he wasn't there when the clan was slaughtered.

Naruto's face fell when he heard Sasuke's question. He was glad that Uncle Koichi wasn't there at that time. But he felt sorry for Koichi since he couldn't protect his wife from the one who slaughtered his clan.

"Uncle Koichi had a fight with his wife and went over to Aunt Hana's to babysit me and Kagome while Aunt Hana went out on a date with Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, "He stayed with me and Kagome-chan for the night. It wasn't until the next morning when Uncle Koichi was told that the clan was murdered."

* * *

What Naruto and Sasuke hadn't noticed was that Kakashi was listening to their conversation. He was wondering why Naruto had stopped by Tazuna's house and headed towards where Sasuke was training. To satisfy his curiosity, he decided to follow the blonde haired ninja.

 _So that's who Uncle Koichi is._ Kakashi thought as he rubbed his chin. He had heard about the other survivor of the Uchiha massacre. Koichi Uchiha had graduated very early from the ninja academy. He was a Sharingan master by the age of eleven. When he turned twenty-one, he got engaged to a woman in the Uchiha clan. Three months later, they were married. He had heard rumors that their child died at birth. He was spending most of his time with Hana Higurashi and her children, Naruto and Kagome. He began to wonder what their relationship was. But he could tell that Iruka had feelings towards Hana and Koichi seems to want them to get together. So that ruled out that Koichi having feelings towards Hana.

 _He must have seen great potential in Kagome and Naruto in order to train them._ Kakashi thought.

* * *

Later at Tazuna's house:

"This is stew is delicious, Tsunami-san!" Sakura said before taking another spoonful. When Tazuna and Sakura came back from the bridge, a beef stew dinner was waiting for them as soon as they entered the house. A few minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto came back from training.

"Thank you. But it was really Kagome-chan who caught the boar and helped me cook it." Tsunami said.

"Really?" Tazuna asked, shocked that the girl before him was able to carry a heavy animal like a boar. Not to mention on how to make a great tasting stew.

"Hai. It's the least I could do." Kagome said, "After all, you let us stay here when I was unconscious."

"Well, it was the least I could do since you did risk your lives to get me back home." Tazuna said.

"You were always the best hunter back home, Kagome-chan." Naruto said, giving a closed eye smile.

"What do you mean, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, confused. Everyone else had the look of confusion.

"Oh, when the butcher in the village didn't want to sell us any meat, Kagome-chan would go outside the village and hunt for us." Naruto said.

"You did what?!" Kakashi exclaimed. Not only did Kagome sneak into the Hokage tower, she snuck out of the village to go hunting. What else did she do? For some strange reason, he felt like he was already growing grey hairs, despite his young age. Even though no one would be able to tell if it's his hair color or if he really has grey hairs.

"Well, the butcher was just plain rude. I noticed that he would sell meat to everyone but us." Kagome said, crossing her arms.

"This stew is great, Kagome-chan!" Inari said before he took another spoonful of the stew. Tsunami and Tazuna were shocked at what they just saw: Inari was smiling as he ate the stew. They had a feeling that he was easily attached to Kagome. For them, it had been a long time since Inari had smiled like that.

 _Inari seems to be attached to Kagome._ Kakashi thought. He knew that anyone would easily get attached to Kagome. There was something about her that drew people towards her. Even he couldn't figure it out.

After they finished dinner, Kagome kindly helped Tsunami clean up and served tea. It was peaceful until Sakura brought up an uncomfortable and sensitive question.

"Why is that picture torn?" Sakura asked, pointing at the picture that was hanging on the wall near the stairway. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari were silent.

"That's my husband." Tsunami said as she continued to wash the dishes with Kagome. Tazuna's expression fell, remembering Kaiza.

"Everyone called him a hero." Tazuna said, looking down at his tea.

"There's no such thing as a hero." Inari said, darkly. He remembered the day when his father was taken away from him in the most cruelest way. He quickly stood up and went upstairs to his room. Tsunami was about to go after him, but she stopped when she heard his door slam. She let a sigh of sadness. She didn't how to calm Inari down. She knew that Inari will probably never recover from that incident.

"What happened to his dad?" Sakura asked, noticing the silence.

"Gatō and his henchmen killed him in front of everyone. It scarred Inari very deeply." Tazuna said, "Kaiza wasn't Inari's real father, but Inari treated him like he was."

"Inari was lucky, huh?" Kagome asked. Everyone looked at her with confusion.

"Not many people would care about a child that wasn't sired from them. But it's a relief to known that there are some people who treat others like family."

"I believe you're right, Kagome-chan." Tsunami said with a small smile, "Thank you."

Naruto had a small smile as well. He was shocked when he found out that he wasn't Hana's real son. But he realized that she still treated him like her own son, just like how Kagome treats him as her little brother. Now that he knew Inari's dad's story, he decided to go and talk with him. As soon as he got up and walked towards the stairs, he collapsed. He groaned at the soreness in his legs. After his small talk with Sasuke, the both of them decided to train together. Which took hours until they got exhausted. If they trained any longer, they probably wouldn't be able to walk to the house.

"Perhaps, you guys should get some sleep if you want to train tomorrow." Kakashi said.

"Good idea." Naruto said, groaned.

* * *

The next morning:

Everyone walked down to the breakfast table and noticed that two people and a cat were missing.

"Where's Kagome, Kirara, and Inari?" Kakashi asked.

"Kagome and Kirara went to get some herbs in the forest. Inari went with her." Tsunami said.

"Inari went with her?" Tazuna asked, shocked.

"Hai, I was surprised as well." Tsunami said, smiling as she remembered of what happened early this morning.

Flashback:

" _I'm going out for a little bit." Kagome said._

" _Where to?" Tsunami asked._

" _I know that there are some plants in the forest that I can use for medicine. So I plan on getting some." Kagome said._

" _I see, make sure to come back for breakfast." Tsunami said._

" _Hai." Kagome said as she went towards the door and started to turn the knob._

" _Can I come with you?" Inari asked. Kagome looked over her shoulder and saw Inari standing on the last step of stairs. He looked nervous as he waited for Kagome's answer._

" _Sure, Kirara and I won't mind for some more company." Kagome said, smiling at him and Kirara mewed. He smiled back and followed her out the door._

Flashback ends

"It seems like Inari has taken a liking to Kagome." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask.

"I think you might be right, Kakashi-san." Tsunami said. She was glad that Inari was taking a liking to Kagome. She hoped that Kagome might be able to heal Inari's scar.

* * *

In the forest:

"So this plant will be able to heal cuts?" Inari asked, gazing at the plant he held in his hand.

"Hai. But most of its minerals along with the other ingredients will blend together into the medicine paste I need to make." Kagome said as Inari handed the plant to her.

"A medicine paste?" Inari asked, his brow arched. Kagome nodded.

"Hai, the paste will prevent infections from spreading inside of the wound and make it heal a little bit faster." Kagome said, kneeling on the ground while holding the plant in front of her.

"Wow, that must be very handy to have." Inari said.

"Hai, I always make some when I have the time." Kagome said, picking a few more plants.

"Where did you learn to make medicines?" Inari asked, watching her.

"My mother taught me ever since I was little. Let's just say I'm very studious of anything that catches my interests." Kagome said, looking up at Inari with a closed eye smile.

"I can easily tell." Inari said. Then Kagome heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them.

"Inari, get behind me." Kagome said. Seeing how serious she was looking to where the footsteps was coming from, Inari stood behind her. A figure soon appeared on the path towards where the plants are located. The figure was a young man with an androgynous appearance. He had raven colored hair that was as long as Sakura's, pale skin, and large dark brown eyes. He was wearing a pink kimono with a black choker around his neck and wore a pair of wooden clogs on his feet. Kagome sensed the young man's aura, it felt familiar to her. The young man walked up to them and kneeled down to pick the herbs.

"Medical herbs?" Kagome asked, watching the young man pluck a few herbs from the ground.

"Hai." The young man said as he plunked the herbs.

"Are you a healer?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, I'm just getting some herbs for medicine." The young man said.

"I see." Kagome said. She grew curious of the young man before her. His aura and his voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. While she was thinking, the young man was done picking.

"Well, I must be going now." The young man said as he stood up with his basket in hand.

"I see. Stay safe." Kagome said. The young man nodded. He started to walk away, but then he turned his head over his shoulder and smiled at Kagome and Inari.

"Have a pleasant day." The young man said. Then it hit her: the young man in front of her is the hunter-nin! Even though she knew who he was, she couldn't fight him. Not with Inari around. There could be a slight possibility that Inari might get killed. Inari's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"I've never seen her around here before." Inari said as he and Kagome watched the young man walked away.

"Inari, that wasn't a girl." Kagome said, "It was a boy."

"HEH?!" Inari exclaimed.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's house (hours later):

"Where's Sasuke-kun? He's never been out this late before." Sakura said in a worried tone.

"I'm worried about Naruto-kun as well. I hope that the two of them don't take their training too far." Kagome said in a worried tone as well. She remembered the time when she and Naruto were little, they would train and train until they fell to the ground. Uncle Koichi said that if they collapsed like that again, he'll stop training them.

The door opening brought Kagome out of her thoughts. She looked towards the door and saw Sasuke and Naruto supporting each other as they came in. They had a few scratches here and there all over. Strangely enough, they seemed pleased with themselves. She didn't really need to sense their aura to know that.

"What the heck happened to you two?" Tazuna asked, "You look like someone who dragged the cat in."

"We did it." Naruto said, "We made all the way to the top."

"Congratulations, you two." Kagome said with a smile. Sasuke went stiff and his cheeks had a tint of pink on them.

"Very good, you two. Sasuke, you'll be with us to guard Tazuna at the bridge tomorrow." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask.

"Alright!" Naruto said while punching his fist in the air. When he did that, he and Sasuke fell onto the floor.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sasuke said. Everyone in the room laughed, except Inari.

Dinner had ended and Tsunami and Kagome began to serve everyone tea.

"Be careful tomorrow, Father." Tsunami said. Tazuna nodded at her.

"The bridge will be completed in a few days." Tazuna said, "But I have to ask you something…"

Kakashi arched his brow when Tazuna turned towards him.

"Why did you decide to stay and help me even though I lied to you to bring you all here?" Tazuna asked. Kakashi simply folded his hands and said, "To abandon one's duty is not courageous, below the courageous there is nothing...A quote stated by the first Hokage."

Inari glanced at Naruto who was wiped out and then back at his cup of tea. He remembered the day when he saw his father die. He was covered with bruises and bleeding all over while he was tied to a pole. At his last moment, he was smiling.

"Why?" Inari asked with his fists shaking underneath the table. Kagome turned towards Inari and noticed something dark in his aura. It gave her goosebumps that appeared along her arms.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, looking at Inari who had his bangs covering his eyes. Then he shot up and slammed his fists onto the table.

"There's no point with your stupid training! It's just a waste of time! Gatō has a huge army out there and he'll destroy you all!" Inari shouted at everyone. His eyes showed angry, but there was worry in them as well. Kagome could probably guess that Inari easily doubts anyone who can possibly defeat Gatō. Back in the feudal era, she started to believe that Inuyasha would never be able to defeat Sesshomaru. But he did cut off his left arm, which was probably the only time he ever won a battle against Sesshomaru.

"No matter what you say or do, the strong will always lose!" Inari shouted at Naruto.

"Are you just pretending to be the main character of a tragedy?! You're nothing but a coward and that's what you'll always be!" Naruto shouted while pointing at Inari.

"Naruto!" Kagome shouted as she stood up from the table. At that moment, Inari left the table and ran out the door. Naruto snapped his head towards Kagome and froze at her gaze. She was really mad at him. He had never seen her look so angry at him before. He remembered the days when she was mad at him for small things like trying to skip classes or trying to pull a prank without her. But this expression on her face was new to him.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you go to bed. I'll talk to Inari." Kagome said in a soft, yet stern tone. Naruto looked down at the ground and gave a small nod. Kagome walked around the table and went out the door.

* * *

Outside Tazuna's house:

Inari sat down at the edge of the dock while pulling his knees close to his chest. He gazed at the moon as the previous event entered his mind. That boy, Naruto, was right. He is a coward. He heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kagome with Kirara on her right shoulder.

"May I sit with you, Inari?" Kagome asked. Inari nodded. Kirara jumped off her shoulder and squeezed herself into Inari's arms. Inari released his knees and held Kirara close to his chest.

"As a shinobi, we have lost many friends, comrades, and even family members in our line of work." Kagome said as she sat down beside him, "You know, Naruto never knew his real parents as he grew up. The village despised him and treated him like trash. But he didn't give into despair. He wanted to do something about it. He wants to become Hokage so that the village will come to respect him. Those words Naruto had said before...he had said them to himself many times. I have never seen him cry. Not even once as we grew up."

"But didn't your mom raise him?" Inari asked, still looking at Kirara who was staring at him.

"Hai, he was shocked when he found out that my mother wasn't his real mother. But my mother still treated him as her own son. Just like your dad treated you, Inari." Kagome said, looking up at the moon. Inari looked up at her in shock. How did she know that his father wasn't his real father? Did his grandpa tell them about his father when he left the room?

"Naruto-kun would understand you the most, Inari. You want to know why?" Kagome asked.

"Why, Kagome-chan?" Inari asked, looking up at Kagome.

"It's because he knows the true meaning of strength. Just like your father." Kagome said, "You know, the real reason why I wanted to become a ninja was because I want to be able to protect those who are precious to me."

Inari looked up at Kagome with amazement. She was right. She and Naruto knew the true meaning of strength. The same strength his father had. 'Protecting something that precious to you with these two arms even if it costs you your life' was what his father would always say. Inari began to think that maybe Kagome and Naruto are the two arms that came to save them and to defeat Gatō once and for all.

"Kagome-chan." Inari said, looking down at Kirara.

"Hai?" Kagome asked, turning towards Inari.

"Do you think that you'll be able to defeat Gatō?" Inari asked as he started to pet Kirara.

"Do we have a chance you mean?" Kagome asked.

"I think you might have one." Inari said, truthfully.

"Then I believe we do." Kagome said, smiling at Inari who gave a small smile back.

* * *

 _Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself._  
-Walter Anderson


	7. Battle At The Bridge

Chapter 6: Battle At The Bridge

The Next Morning:

"Take good care of Naruto for us." Kakashi said in front of Tazuna, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"Don't worry, we will." Tsunami said as Kagome stood next to her. After Kagome had talked with Inari, Kagome started to feel confident that they'll be able to help Tazuna finish the bridge. They wanted to bring Naruto with them, but he was still tired from training with Sasuke. Kagome decided to stay behind in case anything occurs.

"Are you still too weak to join us, Kagome-chan?" Sakura asked, smugly.

"How big of an idiot are you, Haruno?" Kagome asked.

"Eh?" Sakura asked, stiffened after being called an 'idiot'.

"If Tazuna-san is being targeted, so is his family. They could send someone after them." Kagome said.

"She is right, Haruno." Kakashi said.

"Besides, I have a feeling Naruto-kun will wake up and try to do something reckless." Kagome said, "So don't worry about us."

"Please, protect my family, Kagome-chan." Tazuna said.

"Don't worry, I will, Tazuna-san." Kagome said, smiling softly.

* * *

Meanwhile:

Gatō sat on his couch with a phone in his left hand since his other hand was bandaged along with his arm. He was growing impatient about Zabuza's job. He hired him to simply to get rid of the bridge builder. What he didn't expect is that the group of ninjas were able to injure him and he had to wait for him to recover. But the bridge is nearly finished! Why is it that Zabuza is taking so long to recover?!

"What is taking you so long?! You know you have a job to do!" Gatō yelled into the phone.

On the other line, a male figure with spiky dark brown hair and brown eyes frowned and crushed the phone in his hand. He really hated his employer. But he was paying him good money for the death of a bridge builder. He didn't expect to run into a genin group that had a powerful genin who nearly defeated him in battle. He had to admit that she is strong for someone her age. It just made things interesting now.

"Haku, are you ready?" The man asked as he turned towards a boy who looked about fifteen and had brown eyes with long black hair that was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his hair fell loose framing his face that were bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends.

"Hai, Zabuza-san." Haku said.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's house:

Kagome heard Naruto's footsteps coming down the stairs as she helped clean the dishes from breakfast. She knew that he would wake up sooner or later after the group had left with Tazuna to go to the bridge. She also knew that he would not be happy about being left behind as well.

"WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WAKE ME UP?!" Naruto exclaimed, appearing on the last step of the stairs. He was still wearing his pajamas and sleep cap on.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun. How did you sleep?" Kagome asked, smiling at Naruto.

"Actually, I slept pretty good." Naruto said, blinking.

"That's good. I was hoping that you would stay here with me." Kagome said.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, if Tazuna is being targeted, that also means that his family is too." Kagome said.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"It's okay. How about you get dressed and I'll make you some breakfast?" Kagome asked.

"Sure, sounds great." Naruto said. After that, he went upstairs to change.

* * *

Later:

"We're just going to do a perimeter check. We won't take long." Kagome said. She wanted to make sure that Gatō won't send anyone to harm Tazuna's family. But she knew that was an impossible wish. So she and Naruto decided to check if anyone was coming towards Tazuna's house. Afterall, she had promised Tazuna that she would protect his family.

"Alright, be careful." Tsunami said. Kagome nodded.

"We will. Oh, if you hear a knock on the door and if the person knocking doesn't identify him or herself within a few seconds, don't open the door. Even if the person still hasn't identify him or herself, don't open it." Kagome said in a serious tone.

"Why?" Tsunami asked.

"It's a slight possibility that Gatō's henchmen might be at the door. So please do as I say." Kagome said, worried.

"Hai, I will." Tsunami said, nodded.

"We'll be back soon." Kagome said. Then she and Naruto left the dock.

* * *

At the bridge:

"What happened here?" Tazuna asked, his eyes widened. All the working men were laid out all over the place, almost as if they were dead. They looked around to see who was the cause of all this. Then a mist began to cover the bridge. Kakashi spotted a figure coming out of the mist in front of them. His eyes widened at the figure.

 _So Kagome was right._ Kakashi thought when he saw the familiar face appeared in front of them. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura surrounded Tazuna to protect him. They each grabbed a kunai from their holster and lowered their stance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi." Zabuza said, smirking underneath his bandages.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's House:

"Inari, could you help me down here?" Tsunami asked from downstairs.

"Coming!" Inari said as he headed towards the stairs.

What Tsunami and Inari didn't know was that two of Gatō's henchmen were waiting outside of the house.

Tsunami was getting ready to fold the laundry, she stopped when she heard loud knocks at the door. She remembered Kagome's warning if she heard such knocks. So she waited for the person to identify him or herself. But the person hadn't respond yet. Unexpectedly, the door broke down. She looked towards the opened doorway and saw two men who had odd tattoos and strange clothes with katanas strapped to their waists. Fear instantly spread throughout her body. She knew that these two must have been sent by Gatō to take Inari and her hostage. Kagome and Naruto weren't back from their perimeter check.

Inari was in the bathroom washing his hands for whatever his mom wanted help with. Then he heard a crash down stairs. He quickly left the bathroom and rushed downstairs. When he got there, he saw his mom pinned against the wall with a man who has his hand around her neck.

"MOM!" Inari said, his eyes widened. Tsunami's widened when she saw Inari.

"INARI! GET OUT OF HERE! WARN KAGOME AND NARUTO!" Tsunami yelled.

"Well, look what we have here." The man said, the one with a odd tattoo on his face. He was smirking at Inari who was shivering.

"So what should we do with the brat?" The tattoo man said.

"Gatō said we only need one hostage." The man said with an eye patch over his eye, holding onto Tsunami's neck.

"Let's kill him then!" The tattoo man said as he fully sheathed his sword. Inari took a step back in fear.

"Don't touch my son! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't harm my son!" Tsunami said. Both men looked at her and back at Inari. The tattoo man clicked his tongue and put his sword back in its sheath while the other man released the grip on his mother's neck. Then the two men walked towards Tsunami and grabbed her by the arms and tied her wrists behind her back. After that, the two men 'escorted' her out the door. Inari stared at the opened door. He looked at the ground with shame.

"Mom." Inari said as tears started to form in the corner of his eyes. He clenched his fists in anger and helplessness. He knew that he was a coward. He couldn't even help his mother when she was in trouble. Then he remembered what Kagome had said to him before they returned to the house last night.

Flashback:

" _Kagome-chan." Inari said._

" _Hai?" Kagome asked._

" _Have you ever...been afraid?" Inari asked._

" _Hai." Kagome said._

" _When?" Inari asked._

" _When I saw my comrades get attacked by rogue ninjas. I was afraid of not arriving in time to save them." Kagome said._

" _How can you get past your fear?" Inari asked._

" _Inari, we will always put our life on the line when it comes to protecting our loved ones. You have to abandon your fears and find the courage within yourself to move forward." Kagome said, "Can you do that?"_

" _I'll try." Inari said._

Flashback Ends

Inari clenched his fists in determination. He had to get passed his fear in order to move forward. He promised Kagome that he would. With that goal set in mind, Inari ran out the door and went after his mom.

"Let my mom go!" Inari shouted at the two men. The two men turned around and saw Inari glaring at them.

"INARI!" Tsunami shouted when she looked over her shoulder and saw Inari.

"Would you look at that? You came to save your mom, right?" The tattoo man asked with a smirk on his face.

"LET GO OF MY MOM RIGHT NOW!" Inari shouted as he ran towards the two men.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT MY SON!" Tsunami shouted before one the men hit the back of her neck with the hilt of their katana, making her collapsed onto the deck. The two men sheathed their swords and sliced their target.

* * *

At the bridge:

"It's nice to see you too, Zabuza." Kakashi said, "I assume that the hunter-nin is your accomplice."

"Correct." Zabuza said, "Where's that genin I fought before? Kagome, was it? She's a worthy opponent."

Kakashi hoped that Kagome and Naruto were alright. He didn't want Kagome to be in another fight with Zabuza. There might be a chance that she'll use those 'eyes' again. The last thing he needed to be worried about was Kagome collapsing from too much chakra use.

"Until she arrives, how about we have a little bit of fun?" Zabuza asked with a dark grin underneath his bandages. When he said that, Zabuza's water clones surround Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna.

"Would you look at that?...he's trembling like a newborn deer. How pitiful." Zabuza said, smirking.

"I'm trembling...with excitement." Sasuke said, smirking. Within seconds, Sasuke turned all the clones in harmless water.

"Impressive. Looks like there is a rival for you, Haku." Zabuza said as another figure appeared from the mist and stood beside Zabuza.

"Hai, Zabuza-san." Haku said.

 _ **The tracker-nin!**_ Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura thought at the same time.

* * *

At Tazuna's House:

The two men put their katanas back into their sheaths. Their eyes widened when they saw three pieces of a log instead of the boy. They looked to where they left the woman; she was gone!

"Substitution jutsu! Where did they go?!" The tattoo man said. They looked over their shoulders and saw someone dressed in orange placing the woman down and holding the boy.

"Sorry if we came late, Inari." The person in orange said. Inari gasped and looked up at the person who saved him and his mom.

"Naruto-kun!" Inari said with tears of relief.

"Good job, Inari. Thanks to your distraction, I was able to save your mom." Naruto said with a grin.

"It's one of the brats that Tazuna hired! Kill him!" The eye patch man said, taking his katana out.

"Not on my watch." A female voice said. Then a girl holding a fan appeared in front of Naruto and Inari.

"Kagome-chan!" Inari said. Kagome held onto her fan and thrusted a gust of wind from it which wrapped the two men in a swirl and dropped them in the water. The men popped their heads out of the water. Then they saw Kagome jumped onto the water and performed hand signs.

"Hyōton: Kōri kēji-jutsu!" Kagome yelled, slamming her palm into the water. Then the water quickly turned into ice. Trapping the two henchmen in the icy water. Kagome jumped back onto the dock.

"Are you okay, Inari?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, I'm fine." Inari said.

"I'm very proud of you, Inari. You were able to get past your fears and was able to help us to save you and your mom." Kagome said.

"Yeah, you were really brave, Inari." Naruto said as he placed his hand on Inari's head and gave it a small ruffle. The three of them started to laugh for a little bit. Kagome was relieved at the moment. She was glad that they made it in time to save Tsunami and Inari. But now they have bigger fish to fry.

"We gotta go, Naruto-kun." Kagome said.

"Huh, where?" Naruto asked.

"We have to help Kakashi-sensei and the others." Kagome said.

"Right! They're going to need all the help they can get!" Naruto said with determination in his tone of voice.

"Hai." Kagome said with a nod. She walked over to Tsunami and cut the ropes around her wrist. She carefully picked her up and brought her into to the house. She laid her down on the bed and used her miko-ki to lessen the red marks on her wrists.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine, Inari." Kagome said.

"Thank you, Kagome." Inari said. Kagome smiled, reassuring him that everything will be fine.

"We better go, Naruto-kun." Kagome said.

"Hai, can we leave everything to you, Inari?" Naruto asked.

"Hai!" Inari said.

"Alright then, let's go!" Naruto said. Then he and Kagome were on their way to the bridge where a battle had just started.

* * *

At the bridge:

"I'll fight him." Sasuke said, narrowing his black eyes at Haku.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I don't like people who hide behind masks." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke-kun, you're so cool!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Don't I have a mask as well?" Kakashi asked, sweatdropped. He felt a little bit insulted by one of his own students. Oh well, he'll dwell on that later.

"He's quite a boy." Haku said, "He dealt with the clones well even if they have one-tenth of the original person's power."

"Fortunately, your student gave us the perfect advantage." Zabuza said, "Haku, go."

"Hai, Zabuza-san." Haku said. Then he headed towards Sasuke and threw senbons at him as he ran towards him. The two began to clash again and again with kunais and senbons.

"Just give us the bridge builder and we won't have to kill you." Haku said.

"Not happening." Sasuke said, smirking.

"You're no match for my speed." Haku said, "Besides, I have two advantages."

"Oh yeah? What are they?" Sasuke challenged. Then his eyes widened when he saw Haku doing rapid hand signs with one hand. He stomped his foot in the water, making water drops pop up. Then the water drops turned into thousandths of needles that surrounded them.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō!" Haku shouted. The needles went straight towards Sasuke. Sasuke had realized that he had fallen into a trap.

 _Remember the training!_ Sasuke thought as he closed his eyes and held up his hand, _Focus your chakra into your feet!_

Haku was surprised when Sasuke appeared behind him. The two clashed weapons once more. Sasuke soon gained an opening and was able to kick Haku in the face, sending him back at Zabuza's feet.

 _Impossible! No one can be faster than Haku!_ Zabuza thought, his eyes widened at the outcome.

"You've made a mistake of insulting us ninjas." Kakashi said, "Sasuke and Kagome are one of Konoha's strongest fighters, Haruno and Kagome both have the sharpest minds, and last but not least, Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's number one knuckle head ninja. So don't underestimate us including the strongest member on our team: Kagome Higurashi!"

Sakura stiffened when she heard Kakashi saying that Kagome is the strongest member on their team. There was no way that Kagome was stronger than her! But...Kagome was able to fight on equal ground with Zabuza during their last encounter with him. Sakura couldn't even do anything at that time.

 _I have to agree with Kakashi-sensei there. She is very strong. Stronger than Sakura no doubt. Actually, she's probably stronger than me and Kakashi-sensei combined._ Sasuke thought with a smirk.

"Haku, we'll lose at this rate." Zabuza said as Haku stood back up, "Don't hold back."

"Hai." Haku said. Then a blue aura surrounded Haku. Sasuke soon noticed that the air around him was starting to get colder and colder. Goosebumps started to appear along his skin. Haku brought both of his hands together with his index finger pointed out and crossing. Suddenly, the tall mirrors of ice rise from the water that surrounded Sasuke. Haku walked towards the mirrors and absorbed himself into one of them. His reflection appeared in all of the mirrors that were all around Sasuke. Kakashi rushed towards the dome of ice mirrors to help Sasuke, but then Zabuza appeared in front of him.

"Your fight is with me, Kakashi." Zabuza said. Kakashi cursed.

* * *

Inside of the Ice Dome:

"I'll show you what true speed is." Haku said. Then he began throwing senbons in every direction. Unfortunately Sasuke was unable to dodge any of them since they came from different directions. He could feel each one going past one of his limbs or hit near a vital spot. One of the needles knocked his kunai out of his hand. He had to kneel to the ground as his legs started to go numb.

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed. All of a sudden, Haku was knocked out of his mirror by a unsuspected force. The mirror was in pieces as it fell to the ground. The barrage of needles had stopped. Then they all spotted a giant boomerang spinning in the air, retreating to the person who threw it. The person who caught it was sitting on a giant cat in the air.

"Hope that we didn't miss anything!"

Kakashi smiled at that moment. He recognized that confident voice anywhere. Even though, he wanted the two to stay out of this battle. He also knew that they didn't want to be left out of it either. Then he noticed something strange. Kagome and Naruto were riding a huge cat that had flames on its two tails and its feet. He wondered where they got it. Somehow the cat looked familiar to him.

Kagome jumped off Kirara and dropped into the ice dome. She went over to Sasuke while Kirara and Naruto went over to Tazuna and Sakura. She kneeled down beside Sasuke and saw a few senbons on his legs and arms.

"You got beat up bad huh, Sasuke-kun?" Kagome asked.

"Obviously." Sasuke said, wincing at the pain in his legs. He tried to stand, only to sit on his knees.

"Don't move, you'll only worsen the pain." Kagome said.

"But we have to beat this guy." Sasuke said. Then they heard a dark chuckle. They turned towards the sound and saw Zabuza in front of the mirrors with his back to them. He looked over his shoulder and stared at Kagome.

"You finally came, Kagome. I was starting to get bored." Zabuza said. Kagome narrowed her eyes at Zabuza. She figured that he was using her comrades as 'entertainment' until she arrived.

"You won't be able to defeat me." Haku said, breaking Kagome out of her thoughts. Then the barrage of senbons began once more. Kagome quickly projected a barrier around her and Sasuke. They both watched the barrage of senbons bounce off Kagome's barrier.

* * *

Outside of the Ice Dome:

"Kagome! Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran towards the ice dome only to be grabbed by the collar of his jumpsuit. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kirara with her teeth on his collar, which prevented him from chasing after his other two comrades.

"Kirara! Let me go! I have to help them!" Naruto said as he tried to escape her grip, it was in vain. When he saw Kagome's pink barrier inside of the ice dome, he wanted to help them. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at the time. He hated being left out on the fight. What could he do on the outside of the dome? Wait. Outside? He looked at the mirrors that surrounded Kagome and Sasuke. Wasn't this just like the time when Kagome was imprisoned by Zabuza's water prison? Maybe he could do something on the outside!

"Kirara, I know a way that we can help them!" Naruto said as he looked over his shoulder to glance at Kirara. Kirara tilted her head to the side when she heard about Naruto saying he had a plan. To her point of view, Kagome always did the planning, but Naruto did make a plan once when Kagome was imprisoned by Zabuza's water prison. Wanting to know what his plan is she let go of his collar.

"Okay, here's what I'll do." Naruto began to say.

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza:

"You should worry about yourself before your students, Kakashi." Zabuza said as he attacked Kakashi with his Kubikiribōchō. He could clearly see the slash he put on his chest. He knew that it was just a matter of time before he can no longer fight. Soon enough, Kakashi disappeared in the mist. He'll have to wait until Kakashi will attack again. Then he heard the sound of mirrors breaking in the distance. Then he felt the rise of chakra. But there was something strange about this kind of chakra. It was something that he had never felt before.

 _Is this Kakashi's chakra? No, it's too powerful. Could it be one of those brats of his?_ Zabuza thought.

 _This chakra. In all my years, I have never felt such a powerful one. Is it Naruto?_ Kakashi thought, _No, it's not him. Is it Kagome?_

Kakashi had the strangest feeling that the powerful chakra might belong to Kagome. He knew that she had some sort of power that he had never heard of. But the question was what kind of jutsu was she using?

* * *

Inside of the Ice Dome:

The barrage of needles seem to have ended, but Kagome didn't release her barrier. Kagome knew that she couldn't keep her barrier up for long. She had about five minutes left at most. She had to think of something quick before the barrier goes down. She saw Haku preparing to throw another barrage of needles. Suddenly, a mirror exploded into pieces. Kagome and Sasuke looked to where the broken mirror was and saw Naruto with a confident grin on his face. Then he ran to the left side of the mirror dome and threw a kunai at it. The kunai hit the mirror and exploded into more pieces.

 _I see. He's attacking on the outside of the dome to give more of an advantage._ Kagome thought as she watched Naruto try to hit the mirrors with the explosive kunai. Unexpectedly, Haku jumped out of one of the mirrors and threw needles at Naruto.

"Naruto, look out!" Kagome yelled at Naruto. But the needles already hit their target.

* * *

Outside of the Ice Dome:

Naruto ran towards another mirror to throw his kunai that had an explosive tag wrapped around. Suddenly, he heard Kagome's voice and saw Haku came out of the mirror and threw some needles at him. He blocked his eyes and chest area with his arms. He felt pain on his right wrist and left leg. He put his arm down and saw that he had four needles on his right wrist and three on his left leg. He had to kneel on his right leg because the pain in his left was starting to hurt. With the senbons in one of his leg, he couldn't move much.

"Naruto, look out!" Kagome yelled out to him. He looked up and saw more needles coming his way. Before he could blink, he found himself on the other side of the bridge. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kirara holding onto the collar of his clothes.

"Thanks, Kirara." Naruto said. Kirara gave a low growl which probably meant 'you're welcome'. Kirara placed Naruto on the ground, helping him sit down, and released his collar. She laid down and let Naruto lean against her.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she and Tazuna ran over to Naruto. Sakura knelt down and saw the senbon needles on his right wrist and on his left leg. She knew that he must be in a lot of pain. She figured that Haku must have figure out Naruto's strong points. Hearing a wince from Naruto, she watched him carefully remove the senbons from his wrist and leg. After he removed them, he was clutching his right wrist as small streams of blood flowed down. Suddenly, they felt a rise of chakra coming from inside of the ice dome.

* * *

Inside of the ice dome:

"That boy has some nerve to attack my brother!" Kagome said with a clenched fist in front of her.

Sasuke could see that Kagome was furious about Haku attacking Naruto. He saw the fury in her eyes and the trembling of anger that surrounded her whole body. From what life had taught him so far is that you should never mess with family especially if they have a sister who has a really bad temper.

 _I guess I'll have to use this jutsu to even the odds._ Kagome thought. Then she began forming different hand signs. Sasuke recognized those hand signs. She was doing a summoning jutsu. But he wondered what kind of ninja animal could possibly win against a ninja who is able to create and manipulate ice?

"Kuchiyose: Kitsune no seishin: Kōrinoseishin!" Kagome yelled as she clapped her hands together. As she unfolded her hands a faded blue light appeared between her palms. She closed her eyes as she pushed the light towards her chest, absorbing into it. Then her body was surrounded in a light blue glow. Sasuke noticed that her black hair turned white and extended into a longer ponytail. Then three long tails, same color as her hair, appeared underneath her kimono shirt. Her nails lengthened and were turned to dark blue. Her ears were pointed. When she opened her eyes, they were in a darker shade of blue and the pupils were in slits like a cat almost.

 _W-What kind of jutsu is that?!_ Sasuke thought as he gazed at Kagome's new look. He had to admit that she looked beautiful, but why are there three tails behind her? They do look soft. Sasuke had to hold back his temptation to touch the tails. Now was not the time for that.

Kagome jumped out of the barrier and straight into one of Haku's mirrors that stood above them.

 _She went into the mirror?!_ Sasuke thought as his eyes widened when he saw Kagome go into the mirror. But Sasuke wasn't the only one who was shocked at this.

 _She's able to get into my mirrors?_ Haku thought.

"Hai, I can." Kagome said, appearing in the mirror in front of Haku. The next thing Haku knew was that Kagome had tried to hit him which ended up breaking the mirror. Then Kagome continued to chase Haku all around in the mirrors, breaking them as they went. The pieces of ice began to fall all around them. Luckily, Sasuke was protected by Kagome's barrier. Then all of the mirrors were shattered and Kagome kicked Haku right in the face when the last mirror shattered. Haku hit the ground and rolled away from Kagome. Her barrier disappeared as she walked towards Haku. She watched Haku beginning to stand up. When he fully stood up, she saw the hunter-nin mask broke in half and slowly came off his face. The sound of the mask dropping onto the ground echoed to those who were near Kagome's battle with Haku. What Kagome didn't know was that Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna looked shocked at her new appearance.

 _Is that Kagome-chan?_ Sakura thought, shocked at the person that stood not too far away from her.

 _That must be one of her jutsus._ Naruto thought as he stared at her new appearance.

Kagome stood in front of Haku who had an emotionless face on. It almost appeared like he had given up on life. She hated that kind of look on people. She couldn't understand why so many people would give up on life when they should just try harder to live. At that moment, her jutsu deactivated. Her long white hair turned back to black, her pointy ears were gone, her nails turned to its normal length, her eyes turned to her natural blue color, and the three white tails disappeared.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" Haku asked.

"What?" Kagome asked, her eyes widened.

"Please, kill me, Kagome-chan." Haku said with a bloody smile.

"Why?" Kagome asked, confused.

"I no longer have a purpose in my life. I have failed Zabuza-san." Haku said as he closed eyes in shame. Angry at his request to kill him, Kagome punched him in the face. Haku staggered for a moment until he stood up straight again, but his head was still down.

"Why do you want to die so badly, Haku?" Kagome asked, angry. Haku stared at his feet.

"Zabuza...he is the only reason why I fight." Haku said, "Before he found me, my father killed my mother and then he tried to kill me because of my kekkei genkai. In the end, I killed him...I was left all alone...no one wanted me...everyone hated me."

Haku smiled sadly as he remembered the times he and Zabuza had shared together from the first time they met, training hours, traveling together, and most of all: standing by his side. He lifted his head up and glance at the individuals that stood in front of him.

"But Zabuza saw me differently. A weapon. Something of use to him. It gave me a purpose to live...he gave me that reason…" Haku said, "For the first time in a long time, I was happy. He made me very happy. That is why I live to fulfill his dreams. I was willing to do anything to make him happy, even if it meant becoming a ninja."

Everyone stared at Haku. They were shocked at this ninja. Kagome couldn't believe that this guy was happy about being used as a weapon. But when someone thinks like that, they'll want to kill themselves when they feel like they aren't of any use to anyone anymore. She clenched her fists in anger. She hated those kind of people.

Naruto shared the same amount of shock as Kagome. He couldn't believe that people like Haku existed. He didn't know why a person would be happy to be used as a weapon. He glanced over at Kagome and saw that she was angry as well.

Haku felt something in air: Zabuza was in danger! He quickly took off in the direction to where Zabuza and Kakashi were battling.

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza:

Zabuza was being restrained by Kakashi's earth style tracker jutsu which was composed of dogs biting onto his arms, legs, hands, feet, shoulders, and his Kubikiribōchō. Kakashi was standing a few feet away from him.

"No more tricks now. It's about time that I introduce you to my own jutsu." Kakashi declared as he brought up his hands and performed different hand signs. Then a blue ring of fire surrounded him. Lightning sparked and was absorbed into his left hand as his right hand held onto his left wrist. A orb of electrifying ki began to form in his hand.

 _His chakra is so strong! It's visible!_ Zabuza thought with panic as his eyes widened at the sight. He knew that he wouldn't get out of this alive. Who would think that 'Demon of the Mist' would be killed by none other than 'Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye'?

"You're finished!" Kakashi yelled as he charged towards Zabuza who was still restrained by his summons.

"CHIDORI!"

Then an ice mirror appeared in front of Zabuza, which confused Kakashi for a moment as he collided his fist into it. Kakashi and Zabuza's eyes widened at the sight. It wasn't Zabuza who received his attack.

It was Haku.

* * *

Naruto had tried to get up, so Kagome placed his arm over her shoulder. Then they quickly went after Haku with Sasuke, Sakura, Tazuna, and Kirara right behind them. When they finally spotted their sensei, they froze at the sight before them. An ice mirror cracked into, Haku's chest pierced by Kakashi, blood splatter, and a shocked Zabuza and Kakashi. Kagome, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura knew what had just happened.

Haku had sacrificed himself for Zabuza.

* * *

 _Sometimes, people do the darkest acts in the name of helping protect their loved ones._

 _-_ Dean Ornish

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Jutsu:**

Hyōton: Kōri kēji-jutsu - Ice Release: Ice Cage Jutsu

Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō - Secret Technique: Thousand Water Needles of Death

Kuchiyose: Kitsune no seishin - Summoning: Fox Spirit (Name of Spirit)

Chidori - One Thousand Birds


	8. Stay Til The End

Chapter 7: Stay Til The End

Haku looked so lifeless as he stood in front of Kakashi. He grabbed onto Kakashi's wrist and twisted it as it was still pressed against him. He protected Zabuza from Kakashi's attack. He used himself as a shield, but he was delicate as the mirror he was able to create.

"Z-Zabu-za…" Haku muttered weakly.

"I guess you were wrong, Kakashi." Zabuza said, smirking underneath his bandages, "Well done, Haku."

"This boy sacrificed his life for your pathetic one." Kakashi said, narrowing his uncovered eye at Zabuza. He was angry at Zabuza who didn't seem to care that this boy had just thrown his life away to protect Zabuza's life; it sickened him. Unexpectedly, Zabuza lifted up his Kubikiribōchō and was ready to strike Kakashi; not really caring that Haku was in the way. Kakashi's eyes widened.

" **Kakashi-sensei!** " Kagome, Naruto, and Sakura shouted. Kakashi quickly grabbed Haku and jumped out of the way of the attack. He looked to the corner of his eyes and noticed that Naruto, Kagome, and Sasuke were about to head towards him.

"Stay out of this!" Kakashi commanded them. The three stopped in their tracks as they watched Kakashi carefully lay Haku down. Then he placed his hand over Haku's eyes and slowly shut them. He could feel Haku's muscles finally relax from the shock. Kakashi stood up and glared at Zabuza with hatred in his eyes.

"Let's finish this." Kakashi said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Zabuza said as he lift his blade in front of him. Kakashi took out his kunai and went straight towards Zabuza. The young genins wanted to help, but their sensei told them to stay out of it. They watched their sensei fight against Zabuza. They knew that they couldn't help Kakashi in this fight.

"I'd stay focused if I were you, Kakashi!" Zabuza yelled as he swung his blade towards Kakashi. But he reacted quicker than Zabuza and tried to hit him with his kunai which made Zabuza reel back.

 _How come I can't keep up with him?_ Zabuza thought in anger. Then Kakashi nicked his cheek with his kunai, which drew blood and made him spin to the side. His blade scraped the ground as he twisted his body around in order to regain his balance. He started to grow weak, panting slightly.

"I'LL SPLIT YOU IN HALF!" Zabuza yelled as he rushed towards Kakashi and swung his blade at him. But Kakashi easily dodged his swing by stepping back. Then he swung his blade vertically to cut him once more. It dented the ground when Kakashi disappeared from his view. Zabuza's eyes widened when he felt something pressing against the back of his neck. Kakashi was behind him, holding Zabuza's neck in a vice grip with his fingers.

"Look at yourself...falling apart. I knew you wouldn't be able to handle the long haul. You don't know what the true meaning of strength is." Kakashi scolded Zabuza with anger and disappointment in his voice. Kakashi was truly indeed disappointed in Zabuza. He knew that people like Zabuza didn't have _true_ strength.

Zabuza growled lowly at Kakashi's words. He didn't care about how Kakashi viewed his strength. Suddenly, Kakashi stabbed two kunai knives into Zabuza's arms, rendering them useless. Then Kakashi took out two more kunai out of his bag and started twirling them.

"You lose." Kakashi declared as he brought down his two kunais. At the same time, Zabuza twisted his body around and swung his blade to cut off Kakashi's head. But Kakashi was able to stab the two kunai into Zabuza's other arm before he was able to dodge the upcoming swing. Zabuza's blade fell from his grip and skid a few feet away from his reach since he could no longer hold it because Kakashi had damaged his arms.

"What will you do now, Zabuza? Both of your arms are useless, so you can't even make hand signs." Kakashi asked. Kagome could easily tell that Kakashi was provoking Zabuza. It seem to have done the trick. She heard Zabuza growl and was about launch towards him, even though he couldn't fight with his arms. Then they heard the sound of someone tapping a cane on the sidelines. Everyone looked towards the direction of where the newcomer is.

"He did quite a job on you, Zabuza. You look like yesterday's sashimi." The person said in a slight humorous tone. Zabuza shifted his eyes over the other of the voice.

"I must say...I'm very disappointed in you, Zabuza." The person said. The person was a short man with puffy brown hair. He wore a small pair of black sunglasses and a business suit with a yellow shirt underneath and a purple tie. He had a bandaged left arm with a cane in his right. A hundred other rebels and thieves were behind him.

"What is this about, Gatō? Who the hell are they?" Zabuza asked, narrowing his brown eyes at Gatō who was smirking as the men behind him were snickering. Gatō chuckled.

"There's been a slight change in plans, Zabuza. According to the new plan, you're going to die right here on this bridge." Gatō said, smirking.

"What?!" Zabuza exclaimed, eyes widened. Gatō was smirking, still, at Zabuza's reaction.

"You're too expensive to hire. So I'm cutting off our deal. These thugs here are worth more something than you, Zabuza." Gatō said, chuckling again.

"Just look at you, Zabuza, _demon of the mist_. You look as demonic as a wet kitten." Gatō said, which brought a roar of laughter and taunting jeers in Zabuza's direction.

"And here I thought one rogue ninja was bad enough." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Gatō and the men behind him.

"I agree with you, fully, Naruto-kun." Kagome said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Gatō and the men as well. He didn't think that this man would stoop so low to hire thugs when he already hired a rogue ninja. The man would do just anything to gain what he wants. He clenched his fists in anger.

"Well, Kakashi, it looks like our fight is over. Tazuna is safe now since I'm no longer under Gatō's services." Zabuza said as his shoulders slightly slumped in defeat. Kakashi nodded.

"It would seem so." Kakashi said. Then he glanced at Gatō who walking towards them. He eyed his bandaged arm, wondering why it was like that in the first place. Gatō walked up to Haku's lifeless body. He narrowed his eyes behind his shades.

"You little brat, you nearly broke my arm from before!" Gatō yelled. Then he smirked, "I've been meaning to repay you for that."

Then he placed his foot over Haku's face, slightly jostled it. Everyone's eyes widened, except Zabuza, when they saw Gatō kick Haku's face, _hard_.

"I only wish he was alive to have felt that." Gatō said, disappointed, as he poked Haku with his cane. Kagome and Naruto both growled at Gatō's treatment of Haku.

" **GET AWAY FROM HAKU!** " Kagome and Naruto shouted as they ran towards Gatō, intending to rip him from limb to limb.

"Naruto, Kagome, stop it!" Kakashi said as he grabbed Naruto around his waist while Sasuke grabbed Kagome around her waist. Kakashi knew that the two would try to go after Gatō. Thank goodness Sasuke grabbed Kagome while he grabbed Naruto. Then the two stopped struggling.

"Are you just going to stand there and let Gatō treat Haku like that?" Naruto yelled as he glared at Zabuza's back.

"What does it matter? Haku is dead." Zabuza said, harshly. Kagome and Naruto's fists clenched in anger. They couldn't believe of what they were hearing. Did Haku mean nothing to him? After everything that Haku had done for him? That scum…

"You mean to tell us that he meant nothing to you? After everything you've been through?" Naruto asked with anger in his voice.

"You don't know the way of the shinobi, kid. I merely used him. Just like Gatō used me…" Zabuza responded in a cold and emotionless tone in his voice.

"Is that what you thought of Haku? A _weapon_ to be used?" Kagome asked with venom in her voice, "Even though you and I are shinobi on two different ranks, we are different. We fight to protect those who matter to us while others fight for other reasons."

Zabuza was unresponsive at that moment. Kagome and Naruto knew the answer to her question. The two growled loudly and yelled,

" **YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!** "

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAKU HAS DONE FOR YOU! _YOU_ , OF ALL PEOPLE HE THREW HIS ENTIRE LIFE FOR YOU!" Kagome shouted. She remembered what Haku had said to them after she defeated him in their battle.

 _Zabuza...he is the only reason why I fight._

"He sacrificed everything for you...his own dreams, his life, _everything_ he could have...for you." Naruto said, "He stood by your side for all these years...just for you."

 _But_ _Zabuza saw me differently. A weapon. Something of use to him. It gave me a purpose to live...he gave me that reason…_

"You've never cared about his feelings, did you?" Kagome asked, "That didn't matter to him...because he was happy….he was happy because of you…"

 _For the first time in a long time, I was happy. He made me very happy. That is why I live to fulfill his dreams. I was willing to do anything to make him happy, even if it meant becoming a ninja._

"YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN CARED ABOUT HIS OWN FEELINGS?! YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN GATō!" Kagome yelled. Then she breathed heavily, letting all of her anger at Zabuza. She despised Zabuza _and_ Gatō at the same time. Naruto and Sasuke placed their hands on Kagome's shoulder, hoping to calm her down.

"To use people like that and...just...throw them away...that's too...too cruel." Kagome said with her head down as tears fell from her blue sapphire eyes. There was a silence that loomed around everyone on the bridge. Kakashi understood her words while Naruto and Sasuke were trying to comprehend them.

"You talk too much, girl." Zabuza said, breaking the silence. Kagome looked up at Zabuza and saw water drops near his feet. Kagome knew that it wasn't rain. When Zabuza looked up at the sky, Kagome saw tears running down the side of his cheeks. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kagome's eyes widened at this sight.

"Your words cut deep, deeper than any blade." Zabuza said, quietly, as his tears poured from his brown eyes. Kagome and Naruto now realized that Zabuza did cared about Haku. Then Zabuza stared at the ground where his tears had splattered onto. He remembered when he first met Haku. It was snowing that day when he encountered him on a bridge. He looked like a lost little boy who had lost everything before him, but he had the faint scent of blood on him.

"Haku was always so kind and gentle...but he felt pain...sorrow." He said as he glanced at Haku's dead body. He almost looked like he was sleeping.

"Now, curse him for making me feel these emotions as well!" His voice sounded angry with much remorse in it. Kagome gazed at Zabuza. She could sense the anger and sadness in his aura that resided inside of him. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Zabuza. She felt Naruto squeeze her right shoulder. She knew that he was feeling the same way as her.

"I feel contempt that this is the way it ends…" Zabuza said. Then he began to tear off his bandages with his teeth. The three genin's eyes widened when they saw his face: he was human. Zabuza smirked, he could feel the shock from the three genins behind him.

"What? Cat gotcha tongue? You're surprised to find out that I'm human? Some of us try to hide that fact, no matter how hard." Zabuza said, smirking, "Or at least, _I_ failed to." Then his smirk disappeared.

"Boy." Zabuza said, Naruto shot his head up. He knew that he was referring to him.

"Throw me your kunai."

Naruto and Kagome were confused. Zabuza couldn't use his arms since they were immobile. Wordlessly, Naruto took out his kunai.

"Here." Naruto said as he threw the kunai to Zabuza. As it was being thrown to him, Zabuza had quick flashbacks of Haku and him; the time when they first met, his smile, and standing by his side. His smile most of all of them. Then he caught the kunai between his teeth and went straight towards Gatō like a bullet.

Panicking, Gatō turned around and ran towards the crowd of men behind him.

"KILL HIM! NOW!"

They readied their weapons as Zabuza charged towards them. The men thought he was insane, trying to take on them all at once. Zabuza proved them wrong when he managed to cut a few down with the kunai in his mouth until one of the men stabbed his spears into his back. He stopped for a few seconds. But that didn't stop him until Gatō was in his line of vision.

"If you're so desperate to go where your friend is, go by yourself!" Gatō yelled, happy that he was still alive. He smirked when he saw the men stab their spears into Zabuza's back. What he didn't expect was that Zabuza was still standing and went straight towards him. Then he felt the kunai pierced his chest. He could feel his blood slowly starting to leak from his wound.

"Unfortunately, I don't intend to go where Haku is. I'm taking you to Hell with me! I hear that there are demons that come in all shapes and sizes! Oh, I should fit right in, but you won't survive for long!" Zabuza yelled. Then he grabbed the kunai that was impaled on Gatō's chest and started slashing him all over. The last slash sent Gatō over the bridge and into the water below. Zabuza dropped the kunai from his mouth and let it clatter onto the ground. He turned and staggered towards the crowd. The men quickly made a path for him. Zabuza saw Haku when the last man moved to the side. He pushed himself harder to get to Haku's side. Suddenly, his legs went out and he collapsed onto the ground.

 _Haku...would you forgive me? For everything?_ Zabuza thought as his eyes closed. Everyone stayed silent. Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke were surprised at what had just happened. Despite of his arms being immobile, Zabuza went into a crowd of thugs that had weapons in order to kill Gatō. They couldn't believe that someone would do something that crazy.

"Hey, hey, hey! Did you forget about us?! Because of you ninjas, you killed our pay source! We'll go into the village and take everything! Let's go men!" The men shouted and charged towards the tired ninjas who were exhausted from their previous battle. But they wouldn't back down, not on their life would they run away. Everyone got into their defense stance. Suddenly, an arrow landed in front of the crowd who quickly stopped at it. The genin team, Kirara, and Tazuna looked behind them and saw Inari with the villagers with pitchforks and shovels behind him.

"There's one thing that you're forgetting. If you want to step into our village, you'll have to go through all of us first!" One of the village men shouted. Then all the villagers shouted.

 _The villagers! They all came!_ Tazuna thought as he saw the villagers raise their weapons.

" **INARI!** " Kagome and Naruto shouted.

"Well they say that heroes show up at the last minute!" Inari said, grinning. Kagome and Naruto smiled at that moment. They turned the other way and saw that the crowd of thugs looked frightened for some reason. Kagome understood why.

"Naruto-kun. Sasuke-kun. How about we join in on the fun?" Kagome asked, smirking.

" **Hai**!" Naruto and Sasuke said. Then they performed the same hand signs.

" **Kage Bunshin no jutsu**!" Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke said at the same time. Then they each produce five clones of themselves.

"I might have some chakra left to help you out." Kakashi said, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Twenty Kakashi clones appeared on the bridge. The crowd of thugs were starting to get very afraid. Kirara jumped in front of all of the clones and gave a mighty roar. Then the thugs turned and ran towards the boat. They sailed away and the whole villagers cheered. The ninjas cheered and smiled as well. Tazuna was also crying tears of joy as he held Inari in his arms. He was proud of his grandson. He brought the courage back into the village. But the moment of triumph ended when they saw Kagome walked towards Zabuza.

Kagome stood next to Zabuza. She saw him open his eyes and he turned towards her.

"Is it...over?" Zabuza asked.

"Hai, it's over." Kagome said.

"Could you do me a favor?" Zabuza asked, "I want to see Haku...one last time."

Kagome's eyes softened at Zabuza's request. She knew that he wanted to be at Haku's side before leaving this world. Afterall, they lived together and they wanted to die together.

"Of course." Kagome said. She knelt down and started to take out all of the spears and knives off of Zabuza's back. Naruto quickly ran towards her as she began to lift Zabuza up. She placed his arm around her shoulder and Naruto went on the other side of him and placed his arm on his shoulder as well. They slowly dragged Zabuza over to Haku. As they did, snow began to fall from the sky.

"Snow? At this time of year?" Tazuna asked while looking up at the sky. He was indeed shocked to see that it was already snowing, despite the season.

Kakashi watched two of his students stand near Haku's body and carefully place Zabuza next to him. He didn't expected the two of them to listen to Zabuza's request. Perhaps they understood his desire: to die beside the one who meant alot to you. He felt a nudge on his right side and saw the big cat from before. The cat made a sad growl of a sort as it sat next to him. The creature looked familiar to him. He saw the black diamond on its forehead and the two tails. Then it hit him: it was Kirara. But he wondered how she got so big in a short amount of time. He gazed at her softly before placing his hand on the back of her head. Somehow he could tell that she was feeling sorry for Zabuza and Haku.

"I feel the same way, Kirara." Kakashi said as he slowly stroke her fur and she growled sadly.

* * *

Zabuza turned his head to the side, looking at Haku sadly. Tears began to fall from his cheeks once more.

"You were always by my side...the least I can do is stay by your side til the end." Zabuza whispered as he slowly and shakily raised his arm, despite how painful it was to move it, and placed it on Haku's once warm cheek.

"I wish I could go to where you are...right now." Zabuza said in a sorrowful tone, "How I wish I could join you there...Haku."

At that moment, some of the clouds parted, making the sun shine on the two individuals. Kagome's eyes softened at the scene. She knew that Zabuza cared a lot about Haku. Perhaps, it was fate that the two have met. Afterall, they were two lonely souls that have lost a lot in their lives.

"Kagome." Zabuza said in a weak tone.

"Hai?" Kagome asked, breaking out of her thoughts.

"Do you...do you think I'll be able to join Haku?" Zabuza asked.

"I think you will. I know that Haku has promised to stay by your side. He's probably waiting for you right now." Kagome said, smiling sadly.

"I'll be there soon to meet him then." Zabuza said. Then Zabuza's brown eyes closed. Kagome knelt down and placed her hands together in a prayer.

 _Please, let Zabuza be reunited with Haku. They deserve to stay together. Please, grant this wish._ Kagome prayed. When she was done, she stood back up and watched the sun continued to shine on the two deceased figures that laid side by side. She knew that Haku meant a lot to Zabuza, it just took him this long to finally realize it. Then she heard sniffling beside her, she looked to her right and saw Naruto trying not to cry so much. Kagome placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. They'll be together." Kagome said, smiling softly as tears fell from her eyes.

"Hai." Naruto said as he tried to wipe away his tears with his sleeve.

* * *

After two days of resting, Kakashi and his team decided to bury Zabuza and Haku. It was the least that they could do for them. Even though they were enemies, Kagome believed that they should have a proper burial. Kagome put seals on both of their bodies: so that their bodies wouldn't be disturbed. But to also make sure that no one would use their bodies as weapons.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, gazing at Zabuza and Haku's graves.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked.

"Is it true that ninjas only exist to be used as weapons?" Sakura asked, looking over her shoulder. Kakashi sighed. He knew that Sakura would ask that question sooner or later. Especially after what Haku and Zabuza had said about shinobi being used as weapons.

"Ninjas aren't suppose to seek out the reason for their existence. It's important that they exist as tools, that's all. This also applies in Konoha." Kakashi said.

"It might be true to some. But to me, ninjas exist to protect." Kagome said with her eyes closed.

"Protect?" Sasuke asked, curious. Kakashi and Sakura were also curious about Kagome's answer.

"Hai, to protect everything that is important to them." Kagome said when she opened her eyes, smiling softly at the two graves and then up at the sunset.

"I agree with you on that, Kagome-chan." Naruto said as he stared up at the sunset, "Okay, I've decided. I'm going to follow my own 'ninja way'. I'm going to run straight down the path that will have no regrets!"

Kakashi's uncovered eye widened when he heard Naruto following his own 'ninja way'. But then his eye creased and he let out a small chuckle. He heard a 'mew' on his right shoulder and looked to see Kirara sitting on his shoulder while staring at him. She mew again with her eyes closed. She seemed to be smiling up at him. His eye softened at the look. Somehow, he could tell that she was saying that she believes in the two young genins in front of him.

 _These two will change the shinobi world._ Kakashi thought, _I have a very good feeling about it._

"Come on, let's go back." Kakashi said as he turned around and started walking away with Tazuna and the young ninjas behind him. But Kagome stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. She saw two translucent figures near the graves. One was a boy with short black hair and brown eyes who looked at least nine or ten years old and the other figure was a man about Kakashi's age. He had bandages wrapped around his mouth area, making it look like a mask, and wore a hitai-ate with the symbol of the Hidden Village of the Mist on it which was slanted sideways on his head. They both smiled warmly at her. Kagome smiled warmly back to them.

* * *

A few days later, the bridge was finally finished.

"Thank you for helping us. It's because of you all that we were able to finish the bridge." Tazuna said to Team 7 as they waited at the exit of the now finished bridge with the rest of the village.

"I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you all." Tazuna said with a sad smile. Tsunami nodded.

"You all be careful on your way back." Tsunami said with a closed eye smile.

"Don't worry, we will." Kagome said, smiling back. Kirara mewed happily in agreement. Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. Naruto grinned and said, "Don't get all choked up, we'll see each other before you know it!"

Inari sniffled as he tried to hold back his tears. Throughout the whole ideal, Naruto and Inari grew a bond with each other and they became like brothers. Inari also bonded with Kagome and she became like an older sister to him.

"You promise?" Inari asked, his voice was wavering a bit. Naruto felt like his eyes were starting to water and said in a quivering voice, "Of course we will! Y-You know...you can cry if you want. There's nothing wrong with it."

Inari sniffled again and said, "Maybe I don't want to! Why don't you cry first if you say it's alright?"

"No, you first!" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking slightly. They had a small staring contest to see who would cry first with their sniffling and their eyes building with tears in their eyes. Then they both spun away from each other as tears fell from both of their eyes. It would appear that it was a draw. Kagome let out a quiet chuckle while her fist to cover her mouth.

 _Boys can be so stubborn._ Kagome thought.

Everyone said their goodbyes and walked away. What Naruto didn't know was that Tazuna decided to name the bridge. It would be called, "The Great Naruto Bridge". He believed that it should be named after the boy who helped them gain their courage back. Tsunami also agreed with her father.

"When we get back, we should get Iruka-sensei to buy us some ramen. Not to mention, Konohamaru is going to worship us when we tell him of our first mission, Kagome-chan!" Naruto said excitedly with his hands behind his head.

"Hai! I can't wait to tell mom and uncle Koichi about our first mission! I hope she makes some of her famous oden when we get back!" Kagome said, excitedly as well.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, when we get back, do you want to do something together?" Sakura asked.

"No." Sasuke said without looking at her in a flat tone. It was almost as he was saying, 'not on your life'. Sakura's head slumped onto her chest and sighed. She thought she had a chance. But she guessed it was too much to hope for.

"I don't think that you'll _ever_ get a date with Sasuke-kun, Haruno." Kagome said, smugly.

"What did you say?!" Sakura exclaimed while glaring at Kagome.

"You heard me." Kagome said, smirking.

"Why you-" Sakura began to say with her clenched fist in front of her. Suddenly, a full grown Kirara rushed by her with Kagome and Naruto on her back.

"Hey! Get back here, you two!" Sakura said as she ran after them. Kakashi chuckled at the scene.

"Things are really going to get interesting from now on, huh Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, grinning underneath his mask as he watched Sakura chase after Kagome, Naruto, and Kirara. Sasuke gave a small chuckle at that thought. He had the same thought as his sensei.

"For once, I agree with you, sensei." Sasuke said, smirking.

* * *

 _Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless._

-Thomas A. Edison


	9. Weakness and Strength

Chapter 8: Weakness and Strength

"A little to the left, perfect." The man with the camera said, standing a few feet away, as he directed Naruto of where he should stand in front of Kakashi. Since they accomplished their first mission together, they were qualified to get a team picture. Kagome and Naruto were excited about it. The only one who wasn't excited was Sasuke.

"Pinkie, stand next to blond boy." The cameraman said, pointing at Sakura.

"Heh? Why me?" Sakura asked.

"Just do it, Haruno." Kagome said with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Why should I listen to you?" Sakura asked, snidely.

"Just do it, Haruno." Kakashi said. Sakura grunted and walked over to stand next to Naruto.

"Raven haired girl, stand next to pinkie." The cameraman said.

"Okay." Kagome said, shrugged as she walked over and stood next to Sakura, who was glaring at her.

"Raven haired boy, stand next to raven haired girl." The cameraman said. Sasuke shrugged and walked over to stand next to Kagome.

"Okay, everyone ready?" The cameraman asked.

" **Hai!** " Kagome and Naruto said at the same time.

"1..."

"Why do you have to be in the picture?" Sakura asked, still glaring at Kagome.

"2..."

"I was going to ask you the same thing, banshee." Kagome said.

"HEH?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"3!"

The picture was finally taken. Everyone slumped and let out a sigh of relief.

"It's over." Naruto said.

"Finally." Kagome said. Then Kagome and Naruto's stomachs growled.

"Anyone up for lunch?" Kagome asked.

"Sorry, I got some things to do." Kakashi said, "Maybe another time."

"I'm going to go train." Sasuke said. Then he turned and started walking away.

"Oh well, I guess it's just you and me, Naruto-kun." Kagome said.

"Hai, let's go and get some ramen." Naruto said.

"You had that yesterday, Naruto-kun. Today, you're going to eat something healthy." Kagome said with her hands on her hips.

"But…" Naruto began to say, whining.

"No buts, Naruto-kun." Kagome said, sternly.

"Hai." Naruto said, pouting.

* * *

A Few Days Later:

Team 7 were on their way to report to the Hokage about their previous D-rank mission: babysitting the Nakanos' children. Kakashi and Sasuke were both surprised that Kagome and Naruto were able to help them finish the mission with no problems. They had no idea they worked so well with kids. Sasuke and Sakura were at a complete loss at what to do. Which made them easy targets for the five kids that they had to babysit. There were two boys and three girls. One of the three girls was five month old baby. Kagome and Naruto easily got their attention when Naruto mentioned about his and Kagome's secret of pulling pranks. After that, the four kids instantly obeyed them. Sasuke and Sakura managed to help them in cleaning up any messes. When it came to handling the baby girl, Sakura had no idea what to do. She tried to get the baby to stop crying, but with no luck. So Kagome took charge of the baby and she easily handled whatever kind of problem rose. The parents were very grateful towards Team 7, but the kids mostly thanked Kagome and Naruto than of Sasuke and Sakura.

After they left the tower, Kakashi and Sasuke began asking them questions on how they easily handled the five kids. Kagome and Naruto told them that Kagome's mother, Hana, taught them a few things.

"I didn't expect that you guys knew that kind of stuff." Sasuke said, impressed. Even though he didn't show it.

"Well, we have to learn about kids because we might have our own when we're older. So the last mission was good practice, right?" Kagome asked.

"I believe so." Kakashi said, smiling underneath his mask with uncovered eye closed in the shape of an upside down 'U'.

"I think you'll become a great mother one day, Kagome-chan." Sasuke said. That sentence made everyone freeze in their steps. They didn't expect Sasuke to give that sort of compliment to anyone. Sakura was frozen in horror on the inside.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Kagome said, smiling at Sasuke who had a slight blush on his cheeks. He quickly turned away before anyone would notice. Unfortunately, Kakashi spotted Sasuke's blush. He started to believe that Sasuke was interested in Kagome. Sakura caught a quick glimpse of Sasuke's gaze at Kagome. She finally realized that Sasuke was interested in Kagome. Her worst nightmare had come true. When she heard Sasuke compliment Kagome about becoming a great mother, her hardheadedness got the best of her.

"I'll become a way better mother than you, Kagome-chan!" Sakura said as she turned around and pointed at Kagome.

"Oh, really?" Kagome asked, her brow arched as she placed a hand on her left hip.

"Hai." Sakura said with her hands on her hips.

"Alright then. How about we settle this with a match?" Kagome asked.

"A match?" Sakura asked, blinked.

"Hai, if I win, you will stop acting like a snob." Kagome said.

"But if I win, you'll be my slave forever." Sakura said while pointing at her.

"Okay, deal." Kagome said, "Kakashi-sensei."

"Hai?" Kakashi asked.

"Could you be our referee?" Kagome asked.

"Sure." Kakashi said, shrugged.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Kagome and Sakura were about to have their match. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Asuma decided to watch the match (they didn't have anything else going on). They stood across from each other. Sakura was giving Kagome a death glare while Kagome stared blankly at her. Kagome was never afraid of Sakura's temper. Sango's temper was worse than Sakura's.

"Begin." Kakashi said as he slashed his arm down between the two girls. Sakura took out a kunai from her holster and charged towards Kagome who was just standing here. Just when Sakura was about to hit Kagome, Kagome ducked and flipped Sakura over her shoulder. She heard Sakura land on her back with a 'thud' and groaned as well. Sakura got back up and faced Kagome. She charged at her again and Kagome landed her fist towards Sakura's stomach, which made her fly towards a tree and break it in half by the force of the punch. Kagome watched and waited for Sakura to get back up.

"I didn't know Kagome-chan was that strong." Ino said, amazed at Kagome's strength.

"Kagome-chan is holding back." Naruto said.

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Asuma asked.

"If Kagome-chan went full strength, Haruno would instantly be dead." Naruto said.

"What?!" Shikamaru exclaimed as his eyes widened.

"Kagome-chan only shows her full strength when she goes against a worthy opponent." Naruto said, "Also because Haruno is her teammate, she can't kill her. Not to mention that she's too weak of an opponent."

"You're right about that, Naruto." Sasuke said, watching Kagome walk towards Sakura who was trying to get back up. It made sense of Kagome releasing her full strength. He remembered when Kagome didn't hold back when they fought against Zabuza and Haku. He had never seen such strength before. He wondered how hard she had train in order to reach a jounin level of strength.

Sakura tried to get back up, but the pain in her back was excruciating. She felt like the wind got knocked out of her. She lifted her head back and saw Kagome walking towards her. It was more than just walking, she was stalking towards her like a predator that's about to devour its prey.

"Aren't you going to attack me, Haruno?" Kagome asked when she stopped in front of her, "Well go on, attack me."

Sakura continued to try to get back up. She knew that Sasuke was watching their match. She didn't want Sasuke to see her as a weak teammate. She had to at least try to hit Kagome. Unfortunately, her body wouldn't move. She ended up slumping against the tree. Black spots began to fill her vision as Kagome stared very hard at her.

"You're weak, Haruno." Kagome said, "If you had spent more time on training instead of stalking Sasuke-kun, then you probably would have been a worthy opponent."

Sakura's world went black after that.

* * *

"Oh, good. You're awake now." Kakashi said when he saw Sakura opening her eyes and starting to sit up.

"Where am I?" Sakura asked, looking around the room. She was in a hospital room. The last thing she remembered was Kagome standing over her. She turned towards Kakashi who was sitting in a chair next to her bed while he was reading his book.

"In the hospital. You lost your match with Kagome. It only took two hits until you were defeated." Kakashi said, going back to his book. He was amazed on how Kagome easily defeated Sakura. Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't that strong of an opponent.

"How is she so strong?" Sakura asked, placing her hand against her forehead. She remembered the wind getting knocked out of her by just one punch.

"She's trains everyday with Naruto and her Uncle Koichi." Kakashi said.

"How is possible that she can be that strong? I have never heard of a genin with that sort of strength before." Sakura said. Most chūnin and jounin had that kind of strength. For a genin to have that is unheard of!

"Even I don't know, Haruno...but what I _do_ know is that Kagome wants to become strong so that she can protect those who are important to her. That's her main goal in life." Kakashi said. Then he turned towards her, "What's yours?"

Sakura was speechless at Kakashi's question. She believed that her main goal in life was to catch Sasuke's attention and make him fall in love with her. Unfortunately that wasn't working out so well. She knew that Sasuke found her annoying and weak. She didn't know how to change his perspective of her. She could easily tell that Sasuke has his attention on Kagome. How was she suppose to get stronger?

* * *

The Hokage was surprised on how Team 7 was able to handle the Nakano children. Kagome and Naruto especially. From what he had heard, those children made every genin team run off only after two or three hours. The two young ninjas were starting to surprise him a lot.

 _Those two will probably still surprise me in the near future._ Sarutobi thought, chuckling to himself. He knew that the two of them were being trained by Koichi Uchiha. But they were loved and cared for by Hana Higurashi. Two other adults, besides Iruka and Kakashi, who didn't despise Naruto. Then he heard a knock on the door, which brought him out of his thoughts.

"Come in." Sarutobi said. The door opened and he saw Kakashi at the entrance. Then he entered the room and stood in front of Sarutobi's desk.

"Ah, Kakashi. What brings you here?" Sarutobi asked. He thought he was still at the hospital watching over Sakura. He didn't know why Kagome and Sakura decided to have match, but he was glad that there weren't any serious injuries except that Sakura was unconscious for a few hours.

"Sandaime-sama, there's something I wish to discuss with you." Kakashi said.

"Very well, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?" Sarutobi asked, interlocking his fingers together.

"I know this might sound strange, but I've noticed that Kagome is no ordinary kunoichi." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean?" Sarutobi asked, his brow arched.

"When I first saw her fire jutsu, I noticed that the flames were blueish green color. There aren't any fire jutsus that have that color of flames. When we encountered two ninjas on the way to the Country of Waves, she projected some sort of barrier around Naruto as one of the ninjas tried to attack him. Not to mention the strange weapons she has." Kakashi said, remembering the bell test and Zabuza's encounter, "She has a life size boomerang that was able to deflect Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō from beheading us. She has a huge sword as well."

He was surprised at the form of Kagome's weapons. He didn't know that she can handle that sort of weight, despite her size. Seeing how heavy they looked. But the power in them was something he had never seen or heard of. Where she got them was a real mystery to Kakashi. But her enormous strength was another story though.

"And?" Sarutobi asked, curious.

"She used the word 'kitsune' in that fire release technique." Kakashi said, "Most of her jutsus that I have seen so far have that word in them. From what Sasuke has told me that he heard her say 'kitsune' in a summoning jutsu and transformed into something else."

"Transformed?" Sarutobi asked, his brow arched. He knew that a summoning jutsu involved a ninja animal, but what kind of kitsune did Kagome summon at that time that would make her transform?

"He said that her hair color changed to a snowy white and three tails appeared behind her. Her eyes were in a darker shade of blue and the pupils were in slits like a cat almost. Her nails turned blue and lengthened as well." Kakashi said.

"Hm." Sarutobi said as he rubbed his chin.

"But there's something else I noticed about her." Kakashi said, "When she was up against Zabuza, I noticed that her irises were pink with an eight point star pattern in them."

"Pink irises? Eight point star pattern?" Sarutobi asked. He had never heard of that sort of an eye technique.

"Another thing, her two tailed cat, Kirara. Now that I think about, Kirara might actually be a demon of some sort." Kakashi said.

"A demon, you say?" Sarutobi asked, shocked. He had never suspected that Kirara could possibly be a demon. Well, her two tails made it sort of obvious. But Kirara had never attacked anyone in the village so far. She looked like an innocent cat from anyone's perspective.

"Hai, she was able to change sizes during our battle. Besides, there's no other kind of cat like Kirara. Actually, there aren't any." Kakashi said, "It just makes me wonder who Kagome really is."

"What do you mean, Kakashi?" Sarutobi asked, his brow arched.

"I think Kagome might be hiding something. But I don't know what it is." Kakashi said, glancing out the window. It somewhat made sense to him, Kagome was full of mysteries and surprises. He wondered where she learned those strange jutsus and obtained those powerful weapons. Strangely enough, none of the weapons required chakra in them. The power inside of her body was an even bigger mystery to him. A power he had never encountered before.

 _Strange abilities, huh?_ Sarutobi thought. He didn't know what to make of this information about one of Kakashi's students. He had always known that Kagome Higurashi was a special student. The only girl who wasn't afraid of the nine-tailed jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki. He knew that she's very protective of him and thinks of him as her little brother, even though Naruto is a week older than her. Now that Sarutobi thought about it, he never saw the jutsus she had. Perhaps Kakashi is right, Kagome might be hiding something.

"By the way, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi said, "Did you know that Kagome has been sneaking into the Hokage tower?"

"WHAT?!" Sarutobi exclaimed.

* * *

 _Control your emotions or they will control you._

 _-_ Chinese Proverb


	10. Two Bright Suns

Chapter 9: Two Bright Suns

Koichi Uchiha sat on his apartment couch. Writing up his report on his last mission before handing it to the Hokage. He was surprised to hear about Kagome and Naruto getting a C-rank mission which turned out to be a B-rank. Kagome and Naruto told him, Hana, and Iruka about the whole thing. He was amazed to hear that Kagome was able to fight a jounin level ninja. A missing-nin none the less. He was also proud of Naruto as well. But he couldn't help feel pity towards Zabuza and Haku. From what the Kagome and Naruto spoke of them, they were shinobi that no longer wanted to obey the rules of the village. He was glad that Naruto was finding his own 'ninja way' as he put it. Afterall, there are some ninjas here that don't want to be seen as a weapon. Koichi Uchiha happens to be one of them. Perhaps Hana is right about the two of them. They will change the shinobi world when searching for strength. _True_ strength.

When they first ask him to train them, he was surprised. To his point of view, they were a pair of kids who wanted to take the easy way to getting strong. Now that he realized it, they were trying to get stronger together in their own way. In a way, he was like a jounin sensei. He only wished he was their sensei. But Kakashi Hatake has that job. He was glad that he trained with them while he still had them. Not to mention that the two were able to impress Kakashi Hatake with their skills. He wondered who their masters will be in the near future.

Koichi didn't like Naruto at first. Some might think it was strange of him or hard to believe. The main reason was because he's an jinchūriki, a human who holds the nine tailed kitsune inside of him. The creature who was responsible for the death for most of his comrades. But Hana Higurashi changed his opinion of the little blond boy.

Flashback:

" _Why are you taking care of that kid, Hana-chan?" Koichi asked with hatred in his voice._

" _I made a promise." Hana said as she was making a bowl of salad for dinner while the kids were out in the woods playing._

" _He is a monster, Hana-chan! He has the beast sealed inside, the one who killed our comrades! Doesn't that mean anythin-" Koichi began to say before he was interrupted._

 ** _SLAP!_**

" _Take that back, Koichi!" Hana yelled with anger in her tone. Koichi stared at her with shock on his face._

" _To you, you see Naruto-kun as a monster." Hana said, "But what_ I _see is an innocent boy who doesn't have parents and no family. He's kept in the dark about them. The village treats him as the village scapegoat. That's a cruel way to treat a child."_

" _But why take care of him, Hana-chan?" Koichi asked. Hana's glare soon turned to a soft smile._

" _He's like a little spot of sunshine. Actually, he and Kagome are like two bright suns. They brighten up my lonely life." Hana said, "I can see that they have something."_

" _Something?" Koichi asked, his brow arched._

" _I can't really explain it. But it's like a light that burns brightly in any situation. Sort of like hope and determination combined. You can mostly see it in their eyes." Hana said._

Flashback Ends:

Koichi was speechless at the time. He couldn't remember a time when Hana would stick up for someone and speak highly of them. He knew that Hana had a soft spot for children, no matter who they are or where they came from. Kagome seemed to be the same as Hana. Kagome was always worried about Naruto's wellbeing. He remembered the time when Kagome was trying to look for Naruto after he was chased by some civilian boys. He regretted that he didn't get there sooner at the time.

Flashback:

 _Koichi was walking through the streets on the way back to the clan. It was later after Hana had slapped him across the cheek. He couldn't understand why Hana would take care of that child. It made no sense to him._

" _Uncle Koichi!" A female voice shouted. Koichi looked over his shoulder and saw little Kagome running towards him. She looked very concerned and worried._

" _Kagome-chan, what's wrong?" Koichi asked as he knelt to her eye level and placed his hand on her shoulder. She was breathing heavily and sweating a little bit as she bended at the waist while she placed her hands on her knees._

" _It's Naruto-kun! There were some kids who started to pick on Naruto-kun and I tried to defend him. But then they called Naruto-kun weak and he said something right back at them. They got angry and started chasing us! We split up halfway. I waited at our secret spot. We would always meet up by our secret spot whenever these kind of situations happen and he hasn't shown up yet. I'm getting worried." Kagome said._

" _Don't worry, I'll find him." Koichi said as he stood back up._

" _Let me go with you!" Kagome said, grabbing onto his flak jacket. Koichi looked down at Kagome and noticed that the look in her sapphire eyes. He had a feeling that she was going to continue to beg him to let her go with him. He sighed and crouched down._

" _Hop on then." Koichi said. Then Kagome jumped onto his back and placed her arms around his neck. He didn't know why he was searching for the blond haired boy. But he had to do it for Hana and Kagome._

* * *

" _Uncle Koichi, he's down there." Kagome said, pointing down to his left. As he got closer, he heard the sounds of someone grunting. He quickly landed to the spot where he heard the noise. Then he froze at what he saw: three teenage boys circling Naruto while kicking him. Naruto was coughing up blood and there were bruises on his face while he was laying down on his stomach. The boys were laughing evilly as they kicked him. Koichi felt his blood boil as the boys continued to beat up Naruto._

" _You're such a weakling, you demon." One of the boys said. Naruto turned his head to the side and glared at the boy._

" _I'll be the greatest and strongest ninja ever! You'll see!" Naruto said with determination. Koichi saw a spark in Naruto's blue eyes. Those eyes looked familiar to him. They looked like the same ones as the one of his deceased comrades._

" _Well, we'll see if you can survive this!" The boy said, ready to kick Naruto once more._

" _NARUTO!" Kagome screamed as she ran towards him. At the last second, Naruto disappeared from their circle._

" _Hey, where did he go?" The boy asked, confused while looking all around him._

" _Give me one good reason why I shouldn't report you to the Hokage." Koichi said in an angry tone. Kagome turned to her right and saw Koichi holding an unconscious Naruto in his arms. He was glaring at the three teenage boys. They started to squirm underneath his gaze, which read 'excruciating pain', 'torture', or 'guaranteed death'. Then they gulped when his eyes harden at them._

" _Come near this boy again and you won't like the consequences." Koichi said. Then the boys ran off as quick as possible as if the hounds of Hell were after them. Once they left, Koichi looked down at the beaten blonde boy in his arms. He endured the beating of three boys who were older and bigger than him. He could have apologized for insulting them, but the boys probably would continue to beat him even if he did. A pull on his flak jacket brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw Kagome looking at him with concern in her eyes._

" _Uncle Koichi, we have to get back to our mom to get him treated!" Kagome said._

" _Hai." Koichi said as he nodded._

* * *

" _Koichi, what are yo-Naruto!" Hana began to say until she saw Naruto unconscious and beat up state._

" _He was beaten up from three teenagers." Koichi said, giving a brief explanation._

" _Bring him in quickly!" Hana said she lead him to Naruto's bedroom. He carefully placed Naruto on his bed while Hana and Kagome went to go and get the herbs for Naruto's injuries. He gazed at the small little boy laying down in the bed. He could clearly see the bruises on his arms and legs and a black eye on the left eye._

 _He stood outside the door, watching Hana and Kagome tend to his injuries. For some strange reason, he couldn't help pity the boy. His real parents were dead and the village continued to treat him with such cruelty. Then he remembered what Hana had said to him before he came and rescued him from the boys. He saw what she had seen. Hope and determination. That was something he hadn't seen before. He believed that Naruto had inherited the same dream as his father._

Flashback Ends

It took about a week until Naruto was fully recovered from his fight with those teenage boys. Koichi really wished he gotten there sooner or Naruto wouldn't have suffered all those injuries. He apologized to Naruto about not getting there in time. Naruto had said there was no need of apology. He said that he was grateful for showing up just in time. Koichi gave a small smile at that time.

When he fully recovered from the fight, Koichi came up with a great idea to make it up to him. Something that Naruto had never experienced while living in the village. It took some convincing when he had asked Hana about it. She agreed to it after some intense thinking.

Flashback:

" _ **Uncle Koichi!**_ _" Kagome and Naruto said when they spotted Koichi appear in the backyard._

" _What are you doing here?" Kagome asked as she and Naruto ran up to him._

" _I actually wanted to take you guys to a festival." Koichi said._

" _ **A festival?**_ _" Kagome and Naruto asked at the same time._

" _Hai." Koichi said, nodded._

" _But there's no festival going on in the village, uncle Koichi." Kagome said._

" _Hai, but we're going outside of the village to see it." Koichi said._

" _Really?!" Naruto exclaimed, excitedly._

" _Hai." Koichi said._

" _But won't we get caught?" Kagome asked._

" _Don't worry, we won't." Koichi said, giving them a wink._

* * *

" _I win again!" Kagome said, pumping her fists in the air._

" _I can't believe I lost to a girl, my sister no less." Naruto said with a pout. Koichi and Kagome started to laugh at his expression._

" _Don't worry, you'll win the next time, Naruto-kun." Koichi said, ruffling his blond hair._

" _But you said that last time, uncle Koichi!" Naruto said in a whiny tone._

" _Oh, I did?" Koichi asked while nervously scratched the back of his head._

" _How about this one, Naruto-kun?" Kagome asked, pointing to another game stand._

" _You're on, Kagome-chan!" Naruto said with confidence in his tone._

Flashback Ends:

Naruto manage to win one game, which made him happy. He noticed that he and Kagome had such bright and natural smiles. Somehow they were able to make him smile as well. He rarely smiled after he married his wife and the lose of their baby. He was depressed for about a week. Fortunately, Hana was the one who brought him out of his depression. He knew that if his child was raised in the Uchiha clan, the child would just become an emotionless killer. The child wouldn't be able to have a happy childhood and would have train so hard in order to impress the elders. But the child would be forced to learn Sharingan. He didn't want his child to be put through that. Koichi had already experienced that. He decided to train the two determined ninjas a couple days after the festival. He could clearly see the excitement in their eyes when he agreed to. They sparkled with such joy in their blue eyes. He was envious of Kagome and Naruto, they were able to have a somewhat happy childhood. He was always worried about those two when they pushed themselves in their training. But Kagome always made him worry. There are often times that Kagome felt like a daughter to him...if only it were true.

A knock at the door broke him from his thoughts. He got off his couch and walked over to the door. He was surprised who he meet at the door. Kakashi Hatake and the Sandaime standing side by side outside of his apartment.

"Koichi Uchiha." Kakashi said.

"Hai?" Koichi asked, blinked.

"Hokage-sama and I want to talk to you about something." Kakashi said.

"About what?" Koichi asked, his brow arched. It felt suspicious of the two who had shown up at his doorstep.

"Kagome Higurashi." Kakashi said. Koichi stiffened at the name that left Kakashi's covered lips. He had a feeling that Kakashi would find out about her powers sooner or later. He promised Kagome that he wouldn't tell anyone, but...he couldn't disobey his Hokage or Kagome's jounin sensei. He sighed, looking away from Kakashi and the Hokage.

"Alright, come in." Koichi said as he opened the door more and let Kakashi and the Sandaime inside his apartment. Then he closed the door and went into the kitchen to make some tea. The two sat down at his kitchen table. He started to brew the tea that Hana had made for him recently. He was always thankful towards Hana. To him, she was like a little sister to him. Not to mention that Kagome and Naruto were like his own kids.

"Whatever is being said in this room, stays in this room. Understand?" Koichi asked in a stern tone.

"I understand." Sarutobi said with a nod.

"Hai." Kakashi said with a nod. He and the Sandaime knew that Koichi was protecting Kagome of her privacy. Afterall, she was like a student to him.

"So what do you want to know?" Koichi said as he walked over with the pot of tea and three tea cups in his hands. He poured the tea into the cups and gently slid one to Sarutobi and one to Kakashi. Then he sat down and pulled the last cup towards him.

"I witnessed Kagome using a powerful fire jutsu during the bell test. But it was in the color of bluish green. Did you teach her that jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"No, she created that jutsu on her own." Koichi said.

"She created it?" Sarutobi asked, curious.

"Hai, almost all of her jutsus were created by her." Koichi said before taking a sip of his tea.

"Amazing." Sarutobi said.

"Hai, I was also amazed when I saw a few of them." Koichi said, putting his cup down.

"What about the weapons that she has? Did she find them somewhere?" Kakashi asked.

"Her summons gave her those weapons." Koichi said.

"Her summons?" Sarutobi asked.

"Kitsunes." Koichi said.

" **Kitsunes?!** " Kakashi and Sarutobi exclaimed.

"Hai." Koichi said, "I actually met one of them once."

"You did?" Sarutobi asked as Kakashi took a sip from the tea.

"I was shocked too when I first met him. Lord Shippo was his name. I thought he was human. But his pointy ears and the four furry tails behind him gave it away that he wasn't human." Koichi said, looking down at his tea. Sarutobi took a sip of his tea.

"I wonder where she even obtained the summoning contract." Sarutobi said after taking his tea.

"Probably when she was out hunting." Kakashi said.

"Hunting?" Sarutobi asked, confused. He didn't know that Kagome knew how to hunt.

"Apparently, Kagome has snuck out of the village a few times to get some meat to be put on the table." Kakashi said, taking another sip of his tea.

"WHAT?!" Sarutobi exclaimed. First she breaks into the Hokage tower, now she leaves the village to go hunting. What else did she do? He felt a migraine coming.

"It was because of that insensitive butcher." Koichi said, bitterly.

"You knew about it?" Kakashi asked, shocked.

"I often went with her." Koichi said, "But I still don't know how she obtained that contract."

"What about that eye technique she has?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

"Mikomegan." Koichi said, "Eye of the Priestess Technique."

"Eye of the Priestess?" Sarutobi asked, his brow arched. He had heard of priestesses and their importance in history. They were able to fight against demons and heal the sick and injured. But there hasn't been a priestess around here in centuries. Why would one appear now?

"Hai, it's like the combination advancement of the Sharingan and the Byakugan. It allows her to use any nature transformation her opponent is using once she sense his aura. She'll be able to see anyone's true form if they disguise themselves. She will advance in strength and speed as well. It protects her from any genjutsu, too." Koichi said. Sarutobi took a sip of his tea before he spoke.

"That's quite a powerful kekkei genkei." Sarutobi said, "But how did she obtain it?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know that, Sandaime-sama. Kagome only told me what the Mikomegan was and what it can do." Koichi said, taking another sip of his tea.

"Thanks to Kagome, I also found my own summons." Koichi said with a closed eye smile.

"What kind do you have?" Kakashi asked, curious.

"Tengus." Koichi said.

"Tengus?" Sarutobi asked, curious.

"Hai, they're powerful warriors. Honorable and knowledgeable I might add." Koichi said.

"Tengus. As in crow yōkai?" Kakashi asked, his brow arched.

"Hai." Koichi said, smiling softly, "Because of them, I realized that not all yōkais are evil. Some are honorable and strong. Sometimes they are kind as well."

"It was because of her summons?" Sarutobi asked.

"Hai. I realized that yōkai have the same emotions as us, humans. They can love, fear, hate, and grieve. They fight to protect their loved ones and some fight for power. Of course I freaked out when I saw Kirara transform once." Koichi said.

"You knew that Kirara could transform?" Kakashi asked, shocked. How come Kagome didn't tell him about Kirara?

"It happened when Kagome and Naruto were very little. I found out one afternoon when I went searching for Kagome and Naruto in the forest. I spotted something big and furry up ahead. When I got there, I saw Kagome and Naruto curled up next to a big cat that was almost the size of a bear with two tails. I was about to reach for my kunai at the time when the cat looked up at me, I noticed that she was just staring at me and then she lay her head down next to the kids and placed her two tails near them. Then I realized that she wasn't going to harm Kagome and Naruto. It was like she was protecting them. I soon realized it was Kirara." Koichi said.

"How did you know it was her?" Sarutobi asked.

"Her red eyes, her two tails, and the black diamond on her forehead gave her away." Koichi said, "But how she was protecting them was what made me recognize her."

"Do you think Kirara will be a threat towards others, Koichi?" Sarutobi asked. He now knew that Kirara is yōkai, he wanted to know if Kirara will be a threat to the village. The last thing the village needed was to be afraid of another yōkai living in the village.

"Only if you try to harm her loved ones." Koichi said, "As I had said before, yōkai will do anything to protect their loved ones."

"I see." Sarutobi said.

* * *

 _Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will._

- _Mahatma Gandhi_


	11. A Cloud in the Sky

Chapter 10: A Cloud in The Sky

In the Hidden Village in the Clouds:

A young male genin with dark brown hair tied back in a high ponytail and brown eyes was getting ready to go to the Chūnin exam in the Hidden Village in the Leaves. He was very excited to go to the exam. He knew that the exam was dangerous which meant that you might not come back alive. But it will be worth the hard work and determination. Not only did he want to become a chūnin, but there was someone he wanted to meet at the exam.

"Oi, are you ready to go? We've been waiting for you forever." Another young male genin said while leaning against the door frame. He had long black hair tied back in a low ponytail and green eyes.

"Ken, can't you be a little more patient? It hasn't been ten minutes since we started packing. Besides, I'm almost done." The dark brown hair genin said while putting the last of his clothes and heading off to his bathroom to get his toiletries.

"Hai, hai." Ken said, "By the way, why do you want to go to Konoha for the Chūnin Exam? We can just it take here, ya know?"

"I know, but I kinda want to see the other shinobi villages. Besides, I have a feeling that something is going to happen there." The young genin said, coming back with all his toiletries and packing them in with his clothes. Isamu sat beside his bag while watching his master's pack his things. Isamu was his tan colored two tailed cat. He had black stripes under his eyes, black markings on his tail and his fur around his neck was completely black.

"Really?" Ken asked, his brow arched.

"Hai, besides you'll never know who you'll run into." The dark brown haired genin said.

"Are you two ready to go?" Another male genin showed up near Ken. The genin had short dirty blonde hair and grey colored eyes.

"Just about, Nao." Ken said.

"What's taking you so long?" Nao asked.

"I have to make sure that I have Kusarigama before I leave." The dark brown haired genin said as he walked over to his closet and took out his beloved weapon and strapped it around his waist.

"Alright, let's go." The dark brown haired genin said as Isamu jumped onto his left shoulder.

"Are you ready for the exams, Kohaku?" Ken asked.

"Hai." Kohaku said with a nod of his head.

* * *

 _Whatever the universal nature assigns to any man at any time is for the good of that man at that time._

 **-** Marcus Aurelius


	12. The Herbalist

Chapter 11: The Herbalist

It had only been a day since Koichi Uchiha had told Kakashi and the Sandaime about Kagome Higurashi. They both promised that they wouldn't tell anyone else about her. Kakashi had a hard time processing everything. He knew that Kagome was a very strong kunoichi when he first tested her in the bell test. But her eye technique, Eye of the Priestess, made him very curious. He couldn't figure out if she inherited it or created it. It was quite a mystery to him. Her summons also made him curious as well. He knew that the nine tailed kitsune was responsible for the death of their comrades. He thought that all yōkai were merciless killers and had no hearts.

 _I realized that yōkai have the same emotions as us, humans. They can love, fear, hate, and grieve. They fight to protect their loved ones and some fight for power._

That's what Koichi had said about yōkai. Maybe he should meet one of them. Perhaps his opinion might change.

* * *

Two Days Later:

Kagome, Naruto, Kirara, and Hana were getting ready for their mission. A B-rank mission to be exact. The upside of it, they weren't bringing Sasuke or Sakura along. Which was a relief to them. But they had to bring Kakashi-sensei with them. Protocol to be most precise. At least, Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't know about it. To make things more interesting, Iruka-sensei was coming along. He was confused at first when he was requested to go on the mission by Koichi and the Sandaime. But Koichi convinced him that he needed to get out of the village once in awhile. Then he agreed to come when he heard that Hana Higurashi was going on the mission.

The mission was to bring back a few herbs from a herbalist's garden. Hana needed more herbs for her garden. But the journey there, is no picnic. It would take about a day and a half to get those herbs. The person she gets it from lives in a place where even robbers can't get to. The only other problem is that the person never leaves her sanctuary. So in other words, they have to go to her. But Hana knew a shortcut around those dangers.

The four of them waited for Iruka and Kakashi to show up at the gates. Truth be told, they were all excited about this mission.

"Ohayo!" Iruka shouted as he and Kakashi met up with the rest of the team.

"Ohayo." Hana said, a small blush appeared on her cheeks when she saw Iruka. A small blush also appeared on Iruka's cheeks when he spotted Hana. Kakashi, Kagome, Kirara, and Naruto could tell that there was something going on between them. Kakashi had finally figured out why Iruka was on this mission with them. He should have figured it out sooner.

"So, is everyone ready?" Kagome asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Hai!" Naruto said, pumping his fist in the air.

* * *

"So who is this person we're going to see, Hana?" Kakashi asked. After at least an hour on the road, Kakashi was curious about the person they were going to meet.

"Her name is Ayame. She knows all kinds of plants that can be used for medicine and teas. She has the most rarest plants as well. But she rarely leaves her sanctuary. So I always have to go to her when I need some new herbs." Hana said.

"I see. So she's a hermit." Kakashi said.

"Of a sort." Hana said, scratching her cheek.

"How come she doesn't leave her sanctuary, Hana-chan?" Iruka asked, curious.

"I'm afraid that I don't know. There are some things that she didn't tell me about herself." Hana said, "But I'm sure that she has her reasons for doing so."

"If you say so." Kakashi said, shrugged with his hands in his pockets. He was very curious about this herbalist. He wondered how no one knew about her and how Hana came across her.

Kagome recognized that name from anywhere. There was only one person she knew who knew about plants and had the same name. It belonged to a certain white wolf princess she knew back in the feudal era.

* * *

It was midday when they started walking through a forest. Then they stopped when they stood in front of a shrine gate. Behind the gate stood a giant rock wall that was taller than the gate. They walked past the gate and stood in front of the rock.

"We came all this way, just to see a rock wall?" Kakashi asked, his brow arched. Iruka was wondering the same thing as Kakashi. Did they really come all this way to stand in front of a tall rock? Hana, Kirara, Kagome, and Naruto sighed at the same time.

 _Kakashi-sensei is impatient, don't you think, Naruto-kun?_ Kagome thought.

 _For once, he actually is_. Naruto thought.

"Just watch, Iruka-san, Kakashi-san." Hana said as she turned towards the rock and stepped forward. The two men thought that she would just whack herself into the rock. Instead, she went _into_ the rock! Iruka and Kakashi's eyes widened at this. Hana poked her head out of the rock.

"You coming or what?" Hana asked.

"H-Hai." Iruka said, nervously. Kakashi didn't say anything because he didn't have the exact words for this situation. Kagome went into the rock, followed by Naruto. Then Kakashi and Iruka followed after they found on the other side of the rock was a road. Iruka and Kakashi were still confused on what was going on. They followed Hana along with Kagome and Naruto behind her.

* * *

"Here we are, gentlemen." Hana said. Right in front of them stood a hut. It was big enough for a couple and one or two kids at least. There were flowers all around the hut and ivy vines that had wild roses was growing on the walls of the hut. Kakashi could easily tell that this woman loved flowers.

 _This woman should open up her own flower shop instead of living out here in the forest_. Kakashi thought, gazing at the hut. Hana walked up to the door and knocked on it.

"Ayame, are you home? It's me, Hana Higurashi!" Hana said.

"I'm out back!" A female voice shouted in the back of the hut. Hana and the others went on the other side of the hut and followed a small path on the side of it. When they reached the end of it, they spotted a fenced garden with a woman who had red orange hair that was tied into long pigtails and green colored eyes. She was wearing a dark purple kimono and sandals as she was knelt to the ground while attending to some of the herbs. They spotted a flower attached to left side pigtail.

"Ayame-san!" Hana said as she ran towards Ayame, carefully going around the herbs.

"Hana-chan!" Ayame said as she quickly stood up and ran towards Hana. Then she embraced Hana when she got close to her.

"It's great to see you, Ayame-san." Hana said, patting her back.

"It's great to see you, too Hana-chan." Ayame said, patting her back. Then she noticed the small group of people near the garden gate.

"And who might these people be?"

"Oh, this is my daughter, Kagome. This is my son, Naruto." Hana said.

" **Nice to meet you, Ayame-san.** " Kagome and Naruto said at the same time.

"I'm Iruka Umino." Iruka said.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Ayame." Ayame said, placing her right hand on her chest.

"Likewise, Ayame." Kakashi said.

"I presume you're here to pick up some herbs, Hana-chan?" Ayame asked, looking at Hana.

"Hai, I'm nearly out of them." Hana said.

"I see. Well, which ones do you need?" Ayame asked.

* * *

For the past half hour, Ayame was helping Hana get the herbs she needed. Kagome and Naruto decided to help as well. Iruka knelt beside Hana as she explained to him what the herbs can do. Kagome, Naruto, and Kakashi noticed that the two would often blush when they were near each other. The two genin would quietly giggle at them.

 _When will Iruka-sensei ever confess to okaasan?_ Kagome thought.

 _Well, he better do it soon before someone else will try to take her away._ Naruto thought.

 _Let's hope it will be soon, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought. Kagome and Naruto have always been aware that their mother had feelings towards Iruka as Iruka had feelings towards their mother. The two of them couldn't figure out why they haven't confessed to each other yet.

Soon after the herbs were collected, Ayame invited them for tea and cake. Naruto told them the story how they became genin and their first mission outside of their village. Ayame was amazed that Hana's children were able to do such things. She was more amazed that Kagome Higurashi was here in front of her. The last she had heard of her was when she went down the Bone-Eater's well to get to her era. But it seemed like she was reborn in the world of shinobi. Who knew?

"Kagome-chan." Ayame said.

"Hai?" Kagome asked.

"Can I talk you, privately, for a moment?" Ayame asked.

"Sure." Kagome said. Then she followed Ayame out of her hut and into her greenhouse. It was quite a beautiful place. There were all kinds of flowers everywhere. Some are probably used for her teas and others for decoration.

"It's been awhile, hasn't Kagome-chan?" Ayame asked when she stopped in the middle of the greenhouse. Kagome turned around and saw the look of nostalgia in Ayame's green eyes.

"Hai, it has, Ayame-sama." Kagome said, smiling softly.

"So this is where you've been living, huh?" Ayame asked.

"Yup, I'm a shinobi of Konoha!" Kagome asked with a closed eye smile.

"I see. But I'm wondering about that boy, Naruto Uzumaki." Ayame said as she bent down to check on one of her flowers.

"He's a jinchūriki." Kagome said as she stood next to Ayame.

"Jinchūriki?" Ayame asked, brow arched.

"Human vessels that have tailed beasts sealed inside of them." Kagome said.

"Somehow they have the same energies as a hanyō." Ayame said, rubbing her chin as she stood up.

"Hai, but they're also treated horribly in any shinobi village." Kagome said in a sad tone.

"Just like a hanyō, huh?" Ayame asked. Kagome nodded.

"By the way, do you know what happened to the others, Ayame-sama?" Kagome asked.

"Well, I know that Sesshomaru-sama is still around somewhere. I know that Koga-sama and his pack are living in Sesshomaru-sama's kingdom. Shippo-kun and Sōten as well. But I'm not so sure about Inuyasha though." Ayame said.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, brow arched.

"A few years after you left, Inuyasha stayed in the village for a while and took on having a wife. But she couldn't bear him a child. Then he went to go out and find you." Ayame said.

"So he left a woman who couldn't bear him a child and decided to find me?" Kagome asked as she pointed at herself.

"Hai." Ayame said, nodded.

"What a selfish bastard! He just wants to use me as a broodmare! Not only that, he left his innocent wife to parish in sorrow!" Kagome said, angrily.

"I imagined so. Everyone told him that you wouldn't agree to it. But he refused to listen to logic." Ayame said, sighed as she crossed her arms.

"That was the last you saw him?" Kagome asked.

"Hai. No one hasn't seen him since." Ayame said.

"I see. Well, I'm just going to have to avoid him at all costs." Kagome said, crossing her arms.

"I'm afraid as Koga-sama as well, Kagome-chan." Ayame said, smiling nervously.

"Eh?" Kagome asked.

"Koga refused to mate with me. So if he sees you, he'll probably try to force you to become his mate as well as Inuyasha will." Ayame said.

"Hai, him as well." Kagome said with a sweatdrop on the side of her head. Not only does she have Inuyasha to deal with, but Koga as well. When did her life become so complicated when it came to the male species?

"If you want to see Sesshomaru-sama, there's a summoning circle not too far from my hut. It can teleport you to his kingdom." Ayame whispered to Kagome.

"Really?" Kagome whispered, excitedly.

"Hai. I think he'll be very glad to see you." Ayame said, smiling.

"It sounds like a great idea. But there's just one little problem, Ayame." Kagome said.

"What's that?" Ayame asked, brow arched.

"How can I convince them to come?" Kagome asked.

"Good point, Kagome-chan." Ayame said, placing her finger on her chin.

* * *

What Kagome and Ayame didn't know (or couldn't sense his presence) was that Kakashi was outside the greenhouse, listening in on their conversation.

 _Kagome and Ayame already know each other? Who the heck is Sesshomaru-sama, Koga-sama, and Inuyasha? How does Kagome know them?_ Kakashi thought as he listened. Well, he already knew who Shippo was. One of Kagome's summons. Ayame had mentioned that 'Inuyasha' and 'Koga' wanted to mate with Kagome. Somehow, he could sense that Kagome was not very happy about it. He was right in his assumption about Kagome. She was definitely hiding something.

* * *

"So Kagome-chan, where are we headed?" Iruka asked.

"Ayame-san told me that there is a certain flower she wants us to get. She has tried to get it, but no luck. She thinks that we might be able to get it." Kagome said. That's what she wants everyone to think. But the truth was that she was inviting everyone to come with her to see Sesshomaru-sama. From what she had learn from Shippo, it had been over five hundred years since he last saw her. It would be quite a surprise to see him.

They soon arrived in a clearing. It was mostly quiet except there were a few birds chirping all around them and flying towards another tree. The group was mostly curious to why there would be a flower in this clearing when there was clearly none. Then Naruto spotted something in the ground. He knelt down and moved a few pieces of rocks and old grass away from the object he found. It looked a circle of some sort that had weird writings on it.

"Hey, what is this?" Naruto asked as he stared down at the middle of the circle.

"It's a summoning circle." Kagome said as Hana, Kakashi, and Iruka stepped into it. Kagome knelt down next to Naruto. She recognized this writing on the circle. It was the portal to Sesshomaru-sama's realm.

"A summoning circle?" Iruka asked, brow arched.

"Hai, I've heard that they can take you to any place in the world." Kagome said.

"Interesting." Kakashi said. Suddenly the circle began to light up all around them.

"That can't be good." Iruka said. A light soon enveloped them into the circle as they felt like they were being pulled into it. They found themselves in a tunnel of navy blue light. Everyone, except Kagome, didn't know where they were going. Unexpectedly, they saw an outline of a crescent moon coming towards them. The next thing they knew, they landed in a circle similar to the one they were pulled into except this one had a navy blue crescent moon on it. Everyone slowly got up and noticed something different about their surroundings. There were no trees around them, only sculptures of inu sitting around the circle. Ahead of them, they could see a palace down below.

"Where the heck are we?" Naruto asked.

"I believe it's the Western Lands." Kagome said.

* * *

 _The road to a friend's house is never long._

**-** Danish Proverb


	13. A Hidden Kingdom

Chapter 12: A Hidden Kingdom

Unexpectedly, a group of guards surrounded Kagome's group. Judging by their armor and uniforms, Kagome knew that they were working for the Western Lord, Sesshomaru. Then the leader of the guards walked up to the group of shinobi.

"I'm Captain Masaru. You're trespassing into the Western Lord's lands. Give us your reasons." Masaru said. Before anyone could explain their reasons for accidental trespassing, Kagome spoke.

"We seek an audience with the Western Lord." Kagome said.

"What makes you think we would let you visit Sesshomaru-sama?" Masaru asked.

"I am the Shikon Miko and I demand to see the Western Lord." Kagome said. The guards began talking all at once.

"The Shikon Miko?"

" _The_ Shikon Miko?!"

"That's impossible. The Shikon Miko disappeared over five hundred years ago."

Kagome summoned the sword that Sesshomaru had given to her during the feudal era days. Then her reiki covered her body in a glowing pink. All the guards stared in awed as she glowed. Her glow soon diminished.

"I see. Well then, follow me." Masaru said before he turned around and let Kagome's group follow after him. He was suspicious of the girl in front of him. True that she is powerful with a big amount of reiki. The sword that she had shown him was definitely a gift from the Western Lord. So she must be the Shikon Miko.

* * *

The shinobi group was quite shocked about the size of the palace. It was just as big as the Hokage Mountain! The hallways were mostly quiet as they walked down the halls. On each side of the hallway were portraits of men who had long silver hair put up in different styles. Not to mention they also had yellow amber colored eyes. They wore different outfits that had a pelt of fur on their left or right shoulder.

" **Kagome-sama!** **Naruto-kun!** "

The others turned at the voices and saw Kagome and Naruto get tackled by three kids. The first one was a girl with short black hair with emerald green eyes who was wearing a yellow kimono and a green obi around her waist. The second one was also a girl who looked a lot younger than the first girl. She had long brown auburn hair tied in a low ponytail and had blood red eyes. She was wearing a pink kimono and a dark pink obi wrapped around her waist. The third one was a boy with same hair color and eyes as the girl in pink, which he looked almost the same age as her. He was wearing a sapphire blue kimono with a pair of puffy black hakama. But there was something strange about these kids. They had short fluffy tails. Not to mention claws, fangs, and pointy ears.

"Hey guys, how've you been?" Kagome asked, ruffling their heads.

"We missed you!" The brown auburn haired girl said, wrapping her arms around Kagome's neck.

"We don't get to see you much anymore!" The brown auburn haired boy whined, clinging onto Naruto's left leg.

"Sorry, we've been training a lot and doing some missions as well." Kagome said.

"Would you like to hear about our first adventure?" Naruto asked.

" **Hai!** " The trio said at the same time.

"There you three are!"

Everyone turned towards the female voice and saw a woman coming walking to them. The woman was wearing a navy blue kimono and a light blue obi around her waist. She had black hair that stopped at the shoulders and blood red eyes.

"Sōten-sama!" Kagome said, smiling.

"Hello, Kagome-chan, Naruto-kun." Sōten said with a closed eye smile.

"It's great to see you again." Kagome said.

"Likewise." Sōten said, smiling.

"Sōten-sama, you already know this girl?" Masaru asked, pointing at Kagome.

"Hai, she's Shippo's summoner Kagome. The blonde boy is her brother, Naruto." Sōten said.

"Really?" Masaru asked, surprised at this fact.

"By the way, where is Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"I believe my mate is in a meeting with Sesshomaru-sama and Koga-sama along with the other lords in the audience room." Sōten said.

"Oh." Kagome said.

"I'm bringing them to Sesshomaru-sama." Masaru said.

"I see. Come on, little ones. We don't want to interrupt their meeting." Sōten said.

" **But mom, they just got here.** "

"I know, but we'll see them later today. Right?" Sōten asked.

" **Hai!** " Kagome and Naruto said at the same time.

"Alright, see you then. Come on." Sōten said.

" **See you later, Kagome-sama, Naruto-kun!** " The children said at the same time.

Then Sōten turned around and went down the hallway with the three children behind her.

"This way." Masaru said. Kagome and the others followed behind him.

* * *

They soon arrived at a pair of doors. Masaru knocked on the door and asked for permission to enter. Kagome and the others stood outside, waiting for Masaru to let them into the audience room.

"What is it, Masaru?" A male voice asked. Masaru bowed at the waist before the Western lord and stood back up for the report.

"Pardon me, Sesshomaru-sama. But something that has happened at the summoning circle." Masaru said.

"Summoning circle?" Sesshomaru asked, brow arched. No one has used the summoning circle for over five hundred years.

"Hai, a group of shinobi has appeared. One of them claims that she is the Shikon Miko. I ran into Sōten-sama on the way here and she told me that the girl is Shippo-sama's summoner." Masaru said. Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment as he rubbed his chin. Masaru grew a little bit nervous. He didn't know how the Western lord would react if he found out that ningen had discovered the summoning circle.

"Let them in." Sesshomaru said.

"Right away, milord." Masaru said as he bowed at the waist and stood back up to open the door. The group walked into the room and saw the yōkai lords in front of them.

"Leave us." Sesshomaru said. The yōkai in the room and Masaru bowed and left the room. But only Sesshomaru and two other yōkai stayed in the room. The male with long white hair and golden amber eyes and pointy ears they figured was Sesshomaru-sama. But there were two more that they didn't recognize. The other one was a male with long black hair tied up in a top knot and a brown fur headband around his head and pointy ears. He also had blue eyes that were almost similar to Kagome's and Naruto's. He wore black and silver armor with brown shoulder plates and a sword that rested on his waist. They noticed the brown tail behind him as well. The one on the other side of Sesshomaru was also a male. The male had short auburn hair and emerald green eyes. They figured that this male must be Sōten's husband, Shippo. He was wearing a turquoise colored kimono that had light green leaves on it. He had four long brown auburn colored tails behind him. Sesshomaru walked towards Kagome's group. Kagome bowed and soon the others bowed also.

"Masaru has told me that you are the Shikon Miko." Sesshomaru said as he stood in front of Kagome.

"Hai. I believe the last time you saw me was when I left the feudal era." Kagome said with her head down, "Actually, I thought you would recognize me by my power."

"Hm." Sesshomaru said, "You may raise your head."

Kagome and the others raised their heads. Then Sesshomaru placed his hand on Kagome's head. This was a first for Kagome. Afterall, Sesshomaru wasn't very affectionate with others except with Rin though.

"You've been missed for a long time, miko." Sesshomaru said, softly.

"I've missed you, too Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said, softly.

"You've shrunk since the last time we've met." Sesshomaru said. Then he removed his hand from her head.

"Well, there's an explanation for that." Kagome said, rubbing the back of her head while smiling nervously.

"You haven't introduced the members of your group." Sesshomaru said, glancing at her group.

"Oh, right! This is Naruto my teammate and brother. This is Hana, my mother. This is Iruka Umino, my teacher at the ninja academy and this is Kakashi Hatake, my jounin sensei." Kagome said.

"Why does your brother smell like a hanyō, miko?" Sesshomaru asked, staring at Naruto.

"Naruto is a jinchūriki." Kagome said.

"I see. We will talk later on the matter, miko." Sesshomaru said.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said, bowed at the waist.

"MAMA!"

Suddenly, the brown auburn haired yōkai embraced Kagome with no warning.

"I missed you so much!" He said as he rubbed his cheek against hers.

 _ **Mama?!**_ Kakashi, Iruka, and Hana thought with wide saucer eyes. Why did this yōkai call Kagome his mama?! They could obviously tell that he was _way_ older than Kagome. So why would the ages switch between them?

"You saw me last month, Shippo! Could you let go? I can't breathe!" Kagome said.

"Oh, sorry!" Shippo said as he gently put Kagome back on her feet.

"Hey, Shippo-sama!" Naruto said.

"Hello, Naruto-kun! Have you been training hard?" Shippo said, smiling.

"Hai!" Naruto said.

"That's good." Shippo said.

"Kagome, is it really you?" The black haired yōkai asked as he stood in front of Kagome.

"Hai." Kagome said, nodded. Unexpectedly, he grabbed ahold of her hands.

"It's so great to finally see my woman again." Koga said. A tick mark appeared on the side of Kagome's head.

"Koga." Kagome said.

"Hai?" Koga asked.

"If you continue to call 'my woman', I will purify the part of you that makes you a male." Kagome said with a closed eye smile. Then she narrowed her sapphire blue eyes at him.

"Got it?"

Koga gulped and quickly withdrew his hands, "Got it."

"Good." Kagome said, smiling once more. Everyone else sweatdropped at that moment. They knew that Kagome's temperament was quite scary.

"Kagome-chan." Hana said.

"Hai?" Kagome asked as she turned towards Hana.

"Do you know these people?" Hana asked.

"Hai. We've known each other for a long time now." Kagome said.

"What do you mean, Kagome-chan?" Iruka asked.

"We've met her in her previous life." Shippo said.

* * *

 _Friendship increases by visiting friends but visiting seldom._

 **-** Ben Franklin


	14. My Western Ally

Chapter 13: My Western Ally

For the next two hours, Kagome had explained to everyone of what happened to her before she was reborn in Konoha. Everyone was shocked to find out that Kagome had accomplished a lot in her past life, but they felt sorry for her when she mention of Inuyasha's betrayal. Also, during that time, Shippo introduced his kits to Kagome's friends since they didn't get to tell their names when Kagome and the others arrived. The girl with the short black hair was Ayaka. The girl with long brown auburn hair was Natsuki and the boy with the same colored hair as Natsuki was Natsuo.

"Wow, you were able to make bonds with yōkai, hanyō, and humans, Kagome-chan?" Iruka asked, interested.

"Hai, I'm glad that I adopted Shippo. He's become quite a powerful and very polite kitsune, right Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, he is very powerful in his own right. I have to admit that he's almost as powerful as me." Sesshomaru said.

"I also thank you for training him in my absence, Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said.

"It's only natural that he should learn to fight when he got older, miko." Sesshomaru said.

"Hai, you're right about that." Kagome said.

"So Shippo-sama is the summoning boss of your kitsunes, Kagome?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai." Kagome said. The sound of someone's stomach growling echoed around the room. Everyone looked towards Naruto who was scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Why don't you stay here for the night? You can leave tomorrow if you wish." Sesshomaru said.

"We would gladly accept, Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said, smiling.

* * *

The dinner was somewhat quiet except that Shippo's family kept asking questions about Kagome and Naruto's adventure at the Land of Waves. Everyone was impressed by the way they handled the mission.

"This Zabuza was no demon at all." Sesshomaru said before taking a sip of his sake.

"I agree with you on that one, Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said.

"Somehow that guy reminds me of Naraku." Shippo said, tapping his chin.

"Now that you mention it, he did remind me of him." Kagome said, placing her finger on her chin as she thought about the first time they encountered Zabuza.

"So they named a bridge after you, Naruto-kun?" Sōten asked.

"Hai! I didn't know until after we got off the bridge when Kagome-chan told me." Naruto said.

" **We want to see it!** " The three kits said, smiling.

"We'll see it someday." Shippo said.

"It's a sight to see, Shippo-sama." Naruto said.

"I bet." Shippo said.

* * *

Then dinner ended and both parties went into the baths. The males and females went into separate baths.

"This is heaven." Naruto said, sighing as he laid back in the spring.

"I agree with you fully on that Naruto-kun." Iruka said.

"I didn't think that Kagome would know a powerful royal." Kakashi said.

"Sesshomaru is highly respected amongst all of the yōkai war lords. Afterall, inu and kitsunes are just as strong as dragons. Sadly, there aren't much dragons left. Also, Kagome happens to be the only miko that Sesshomaru-sama acknowledges and respects." Shippo said.

"Really?" Iruka asked, amazed.

"Yeah, truth be told, Sesshomaru-sama is actually stronger than me and Koga. But Kagome is nearly as strong as Sesshomaru." Shippo said.

"How so, Shippo-sama?" Kakashi asked, curious. He wondered how Sesshomaru and Kagome are equally powerful.

"Sesshomaru is a powerful swordsman including the poison abilities he inherited from his mother, he's considered an enemy you don't want to come across. Well, a human wouldn't stand a chance against him, let alone a shinobi." Shippo said.

"That powerful, huh?" Naruto asked, amazed.

"Sometimes, I wonder if Sesshomaru's father is proud of him." Shippo said.

"Why do you ask that, Shippo-sama?" Iruka asked.

"Sesshomaru's father died when Inuyasha was born. He sacrificed himself to save Inuyasha and his mother. So Sesshomaru had grown up half of his life without his father. Inuyasha never even had the chance to meet his father." Shippo said.

"What about his mom?" Naruto asked.

"She died a few years later." Shippo said.

"So he mostly grew up alone?" Kakashi asked, sadly. He remembered the days after his father died and how he grew up without any parents.

"Hai. Somehow, you and Inuyasha have the same circumstances, Naruto-kun." Shippo said.

"How?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Hanyō are treated quite horribly in both societies. For yōkai, hanyō are more lower that a human. For humans, they're more dangerous than a yōkai." Shippo said.

"I know the feeling." Naruto said, sadly. He remembered all those times when the villagers would always put him at a distance between him. Parents would tell their children to stay away from him and others would throw rocks at him. Also they would beat him and call him names.

"I know that one day, people will accept you, Naruto-kun." Shippo said, putting his hand on Naruto's right shoulder.

"Thank you, Shippo-sama." Naruto said. Shippo ruffled his hair causing Naruto to giggle.

* * *

"This feels so good." Hana said, sighing.

"I can't remember the last time I visited a hot spring." Kagome said.

"Sesshomaru-sama always has the best hot springs." Ayaka said, smiling.

"That is so true." Natsuki said, smiling.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you something, Sōten-sama." Kagome said.

"What is it, Kagome-chan?" Sōten asked.

"Where's Rin? I haven't seen her since I got here." Kagome said.

"Well, she married to one of Sesshomaru's trusted generals. It was love at first sight for the two of them. They live in a separate house from the palace." Sōten said.

"I'm glad that she was able to find happiness with someone." Kagome said.

"What about you, Kagome-chan?" Ayaka asked.

"Huh?" Kagome asked.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Ayaka asked.

"No, I'm so focused on being a kunoichi that I'm not really interested in guys." Kagome said.

"Really? No one at all?" Ayaka asked.

"Hai, even though I had a bit of a fan club back at the academy." Kagome said.

"You know, Kohaku is a genin in Kumo." Sōten said.

"Kohaku is still alive?" Kagome asked, shocked. She didn't know that Sango's little brother was alive in the shinobi world. Maybe Midoriko gave Kohaku another chance in life.

"Hai, he's also Dad's summoner as well." Natsuki said, smiling.

"I hope I get to meet him someday." Kagome said. She was looking forward to meet Kohaku once more. She hoped that he was doing well for himself.

"The last time Shippo had spoken to him was that he was getting ready to go to the Chūnin exams." Sōten said.

"The Chūnin exams?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, they'll probably be in Konoha soon." Hana said.

"The location for the exam this year is Konoha, right?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, maybe you'll see him there." Hana said, smiling.

"Me, too." Kagome said, smiling.

* * *

Sesshomaru was standing in the gardens as he looked up at the full moon. He was glad that Kagome was still alive. Truth be told, he did miss her over the years since she disappeared in the bone-eater's well. Rin missed her terribly as much as the demon slayer and the monk did. Then a familiar scent hit his nose.

"Hatake, I know you're there." Sesshomaru said, without turning around. Kakashi poked his head out from behind the pillar.

"Inu sure have powerful sense of smell." Kakashi said as he walked over to stand next to Sesshomaru.

"Indeed." Sesshomaru said.

"Hey, is it true of what your brother did?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai. He was a fool." Sesshomaru said.

"He didn't know that he had a good thing until he lost it." Kakashi said. Sesshomaru sighed.

"My little brother decided to remain in the past instead of facing the future." Sesshomaru said, looking back up at the moon.

"I see." Kakashi said.

"Perhaps he will never learn from his past mistakes." Sesshomaru said.

"In order to move forward, we have to learn from our past mistakes in order to get stronger." Kakashi said.

"I agreed with you on that, Hatake. But now, I have a question for you." Sesshomaru said.

"What is it, Sesshomaru-sama?" Kakashi asked, curious.

"Why do you always have a mask on?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Oh, well. I guess I like wearing it." Kakashi said.

"I can tell that you're lying to me, Hatake. You can never lie to an inu." Sesshomaru said.

"I didn't know that. But I guess it's because of my dad." Kakashi said.

"Your father?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Everyone kept saying that I was a spitting image of him." Kakashi said.

"But that's not all of it, is it?" Sesshomaru asked. Kakashi sighed. He now knew that he couldn't really lie to the Western lord. So he told his story about his father, the after effects his failed mission, and how he committed suicide. Then Sesshomaru told Kakashi the story of his father and how he died.

"After he died, I hated my brother and humans as well." Sesshomaru said, "It took me a long time to finally realize why my father died for Izayoi and my little half brother."

"And what was it?" Kakashi asked.

"He cared for Izayoi and my little half brother. He fought for the ones he loves. That's where his true power laid." Sesshomaru said, "I'm proud to say that he's my father."

"I'm proud of my father as well." Kakashi said, looking up at the moon.

* * *

It was the next morning, Kagome's group were leaving Sesshomaru's lands and start heading towards Konoha. Shippo's family were sad that Kagome had to leave, but she had to. Kagome and Naruto told them that they would be back to visit them, which made the kits squeal with excitement. Here they stood in the front of the summoning circle. They knew that the moment they would step into the circle, they would go back to Konoha.

"Thanks for letting us stay here, Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome said.

"It's nothing, miko. I'm just glad to finally meet with a friendly ally of mine." Sesshomaru said.

"I'm glad as well." Kagome said.

"Remember, if you need anything, you know where to find me." Sesshomaru said.

"Hai!" Kagome said.

* * *

 _Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over._

 _-_ Octvaia Butler


	15. The Chūnin Exams Begins

Chapter 14: The Chūnin Exams Begins

Kagome and Naruto got up late from getting back from their mission yesterday. So they had some breakfast before they had to meet up with Kakashi. They both of them knew they would probably make it on time. They had a few missions today. D-ranks mission to be most specific. Unfortunately, Naruto caused a little bit of trouble on each mission and so they stopped all of their missions. Kakashi soon left after Naruto got angry at Sasuke. Sakura threatened Naruto that she would end him while Kagome was trying to be the peacemaker. Then Sasuke insulted Sakura about being weak and she went into depression mode. But what they didn't expected was that a big box with rock patterns on it and two holes in front was following them. Naruto quickly turned around and the box stopped moving.

"Knock it off, Konohamaru. I know it's you. Seriously, there aren't any rocks that have two holes in it!" Naruto said with his hands on his hips. The box opened with a puff of smoke and three young kids appeared. Kagome and Naruto instantly recognized the trio: Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi.

"Why are you guys following us?" Kagome asked, her brow arched.

"You promised that you would play ninja with us." Konohamaru said.

"Naruto-kun, you're a ninja playing a ninja. That's just stupid." Sakura said, deadpanned.

"Is she always like that, Kagome-chan?" Konohamaru asked.

"Hai. What she doesn't realize is that we're training you to become ninjas." Kagome said, "Right, Naruto-kun?"

"Hai." Naruto said.

"So pinkie is the dumb teammate, right boss?" Konohamaru asked, looking up at Naruto.

"Why you little!" Sakura began to say as she chased after Konohamaru, only for him to bump into someone. Konohamaru looked up at the person he ran into. It was a guy, probably older than Naruto. He wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle in front. He also wore a black hood that covered his head completely and had cat-like ears and his hitai-ate was on his forehead. He had a purple triangular face-paint design on his face, which gave him a somewhat creepy clown look. He also had a mummified figure strapped to his back. The one next to him was a kunoichi who had teal eyes and sandy blonde hair that was gathered into four consecutive ponytails. She wore a light purple-coloured, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, a scarlet sash tied around her waist, a fishnet worn over her shoulders and on her right calf and left thigh, and black ninja sandals. She wore her hitai-ate around her neck and she was carrying a giant tessan on her back. The symbol on the two's hitai-ates signified that they were from Suna, the Hidden Sand village. The Suna shinobi looked down at Konohamaru.

"That hurt you little brat." The Suna shinobi said. Unexpectedly, he picked up Konohamaru by the front part of his shirt.

"Hey, let him go!" Sakura said. Konohamaru was trying to get out his grip as he kicked his legs. But it had no effect on the shinobi in front of him.

"Stop it, Kankurō or we'll get scolded later." The Suna kunoichi said.

"I just want to have a little fun with these noisy pipsqueaks, Temari." Kankurō said. Temari sighed.

"I'm not going to be responsible for what you do to him, Kankurō." Temari said, turning away with her hands on her hips.

"Let me go!" Konohamaru yelled, trying to get out of Kankurō's tight grip.

"All that fussing makes me want to hit the brat." Kankurō said, smirking, as he raised his fist. Konohamaru quickly shut his eyes as he prepared for the upcoming pain. But he felt no pain, he opened one of his eyes and saw Kankurō's wrist being held by a metal chain that was wrapped around it. Taking advantage of his distraction, Kirara jumped onto Kankurō's face which caused the ninja to drop Konohamaru. At the last second, Naruto caught him and jumped away from the Suna shinobi. Soon enough, Kankurō felt something cold and sharp on his neck. He looked in the corner of his eye and saw a Konoha kunoichi with a katana at his neck.

"If you try to harm these kids, you'll receive a one way ticket to Hell." Kagome said in a cold voice that sent a shiver down his spine.

"It's very rude to pick on children. It makes a bad impression." A male voice said. Everyone turned towards the voice and saw a boy around Naruto's age. He had brown hair that was tied up in a high ponytail and brown eyes as well. He was wearing a grey short sleeve hoodie and black colored capris along with black ninja sandals. He also had black ninja gloves that went all the way to his elbows and had a ring loop around his middle finger along with a metal plates on top. There was a hitai-ate around his neck. It didn't have a Konoha or a Suna symbol on it: it was a Kumo one. The other thing they noticed was that he was holding onto the other end of the chain that was wrapped around Kankurō's wrist. There was also a two tailed cat on his right shoulder as well. It almost looked like Kirara, but it had different markings though. Kagome's sapphire blue eyes widened when she gazed at the boy before her. She knew who this boy was: Kohaku, Sango's little brother. For some strange reason, she was glad that she had another friend from her past to appear here in the shinobi world.

"It wouldn't be right to start a war between Konoha and Suna, right?" Kohaku asked.

"Tch, another brat, huh?" Kankurō clicked his tongue.

"You should know better than to harm innocent kids." Kohaku glared at Kankurō.

"Like I care." Kankurō said as he removed the mummified figure off his back, "I'll finish you off with this."

"Kankurō, you're going to use Karasu against these kids?!" Temari exclaimed.

"I hate short people. They aggreviate me too much." Kankurō said. Suddenly, a pebble hit his hand, which made him let go of the mummified figure.

"You're a long ways from home."

Everyone turned towards the voice. Kagome spotted Sasuke sitting on a tree branch while tossing another pebble up and down his hand.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed with hearts in her eyes while Naruto was annoyed at Sasuke. Temari blushed a little bit as she stared at Sasuke.

 _He's pretty handsome_. Temari thought.

"Great, another one pops up." Kankurō muttered as he glared at Sasuke. Then Sasuke crushed the pebble that he caught in his hand.

"Get lost." Sasuke said.

" **He's so cool!** " Sakura and Moegi swooned with hearts in their eyes.

"So am I!" Naruto declared.

"No, you're not, Naruto." Konohamaru said.

"I could have handled that guy with no sweat!" Naruto defended.

"No, you wouldn't." Konohamaru said.

 _Damn it, Sasuke! Why do you always have to make me look bad?!_ Naruto thought, angrily.

 _Sasuke-kun always has to get Naruto-kun mad about something._ Kagome thought with a mushroom sigh.

"That's enough, Kankurō."

Everyone jolted at the cold and emotionless voice. Kagome turned at the voice and saw a red haired boy with sea colored eyes with black rings around them. Then kanji symbol for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. He was wearing a black bodysuit with an open neck, t-shirt-like sleeves, and almost full-length leggings and a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip with which he carries his sand gourd and wrapped on it, laid a hitai-ate with the symbol of Suna on it. He was standing upside down on the branch that Sasuke was sitting on.

"You're embarrassing our village. Do you know why we came to this village?" The red haired boy said.

"L-Listen Gaara, let me explain…" Kankurō trailed off nervously raising his free hand.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara said, releasing killer intent. Kankurō gulped.

"I'm sorry, I'm at fault here." Kankurō said. Gaara looked up at all of them.

"I'm sorry for the trouble he has caused." Gaara said.

"It's fine." Kagome said.

 _This girl was able to sneak up behind Kankurō without him knowing and that Kumo shinobi has quick reflexes with that chain of his. The other Konoha shinobi was able to hit his hand so easily with a pebble. Interesting._ Gaara thought. Then he disappeared into sand and materialized next to Kankurō.

"Let's go. We've done enough fooling around." Gaara said. Kohaku walked over to Kankurō and helped remove the chain around his wrist.

"Thanks." Kankurō grunted as he rubbed his wrist and went to pick up his mummified figure.

"Wait!" Sakura said. The three Suna stopped in their footsteps and turned towards Sakura.

"What is it now?" Temari asked without turning around.

"Judging by your hitai-ates, you three are from Suna and you're from Kumo, right?" Sakura pointed from the three Suna shinobi to Kohaku, "The Land of Fire and The Land of Wind have an alliance, but the Land of Lightning doesn't. Peace treaties prevent shinobi from entering other countries without permission. So state your purpose."

"They're here for the Chūnin exams, right?" Kagome asked.

"Glad that someone hasn't been living under a rock." Temari said as she and the other two turned around. Then she took out an identification card as Kohaku took out his.

"This is our traffic pass. Like your friend just said. We're here for the chūnin exams." Temari said.

"Chūnin exams?" Naruto asked, confused, "What's that?"

"You really _are_ clueless." She mocked Naruto.

"Naruto-nii, the Chūnin exam is where you take an exam to advance from genin to chūnin." Konohamaru said.

"Really? I should take it, too!" Naruto said with excitement.

"Let's go." Gaara said and started to walk away with his team.

"Hey, you there." Sasuke shouted when he jumped off the tree branch and appeared next to Kagome.

"Who me?" Temari asked, blushing while pointing at herself.

"No, the one with the gourd on his back." Sasuke said, pointing at Gaara. His team turned towards him. Gaara turned around and stared at Sasuke.

 _Such cold eyes._ Kagome thought as she gazed at Gaara. She knew that Sesshomaru had those kind of eyes before. But now, Sesshomaru's eyes had softened a little since he first encountered Rin.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Gaara said, "I'm also interested in your names."

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke smirked.

"And the girl as well?" Gaara asked.

"M-Me?" Sakura stuttered as she pointed at herself.

"No, _her_." Gaara stared at Kagome.

"Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said.

"And you?" Gaara turned towards the Kumo shinobi.

"Kohaku Taijiya." Kohaku replied.

"I see." Gaara said.

"I bet you're dying to know my name, right?" Naruto smiled as he pointed at himself.

"No interested." Gaara said before he turned around with his team behind him. Everyone let out a breath of air that they didn't know that they were holding, except Sasuke.

"Thank you for your help." Kagome said, turning towards Kohaku. He smiled when Kagome looked at him. For a strange reason, her heart skipped a beat when she gazed at Kohaku's smile. Her heart had never done that before when she first met him in her previous life. Well, she was fifteen and he was eleven at the time.

"It was nothing. I'll reintroduce myself. I'm Kohaku Taijiya." Kohaku said, the two tailed cat on his shoulder mewed. "Oh, this is Isamu."

"I'm Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said. Then Kirara jumped onto her right shoulder, "And this is Kirara."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.

"Nice to meet you two." Kohaku said.

"You're here for the Chūnin exams, right?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, my team and I decided to come here for the exams." Kohaku smiled with his eyes closed.

"That's a cool weapon you got there, Kohaku-kun!" Konohamaru eyed Kohaku's weapon.

"Thank you, it's called the Kusarigama." Kohaku placed his hand over it.

" **Cool!** " Naruto and Konohamaru said.

"I've never seen a weapon like that before." Sakura said, intrigued by his weapon. Sasuke was also intrigued by the weapon. He thought the same thing as Sakura. He wondered where Kohaku got such weapon.

"It takes after the rumor of it belonging to a demon slayer." Kohaku said.

"What's a demon slayer?" Moegi asked, curious.

"A warrior who slays demons for a living." Kohaku said.

"Are they ninjas?" Udon asked, curious as well.

"No. They're kind of like samurais. But they know the strengths and weaknesses of a demon and have very good combats skills." Kohaku said, "Also, they take the bones of a demon and make them into weapons."

"That's so awesome!" Konohamaru said.

"Hey, hey, hey, can we see it in action?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid I can't." Kohaku said.

"Why not?" Moegi asked.

"I can't let my competitors know about my moves that I might use in the exams." Kohaku said.

"Oh, that makes sense." Naruto said, tapping his finger on his chin. Kohaku gave a small smile then it turned into a look of shock.

"I just realized something." Kohaku said.

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I kind of...left my team behind before I came to help." Kohaku said with a sweat drop on the side of his head while scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, her brow arched.

"I got separated from them to be most precise." Kohaku said, nervously.

"How did you manage to do that?" Sakura asked.

"Isamu ran off and I followed him all the way here when I saw that Suna shinobi threatening one these kids." Kohaku said.

"Yeah, thanks, Kohaku-kun." Konohamaru said, "By the way, my name is Konohamaru and this is Moegi and Udon!"

"It was nothing, Konohamaru-kun and it's nice to meet you all." Kohaku said, "So you'll be participating in the exams,too?"

"Our sensei will have to recommend us first." Kagome said.

"Well, I hope to see you there." Kohaku said.

"So that makes us rivals, huh?" Kagome asked, grinning.

"Hai. I won't go easy on you." Kohaku said, grinning.

"We were just about to say the same thing to you." Naruto said, grinning.

" **KOHAKU!** " Shouted two angry male voices that came from them. Kohaku and Isamu stiffened at the sound of the voices.

"I'm dead." Kohaku muttered, "I'll see you all at the exam!" Then Kohaku disappeared in a flash.

* * *

The next day:

Kagome, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were waiting for their sensei at the bridge. They've been waiting...for almost three hours. Well, Kagome and Naruto came an hour later after Sasuke and Sakura arrived. It was silent until Sakura was the first to get angry and snap.

"Ugh! Why does he always make us wait so long when he's the one who called us up at this time?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Haruno, you should have realized by now that Kakashi-sensei had a habit of showing up late, right?" Kagome asked. Sakura then stiffened at the realization. Kagome could easily that Sakura was angry at Kakashi because she didn't have the time to do her hair.

"At least we washed up and had breakfast, Naruto-kun." Kagome said. Kirara mewed in agreement.

"Yeah." Naruto said with his arms behind his head. Then Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke on a post above the bridge.

"Sorry everyone, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi greeted happily, raising his hand.

" **LIAR!** " Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison as they pointed at Kakashi. He jumped down from the post and appeared in front of them.

"Anyway, I'll get straight to the point. I recommended all of you for the Chūnin exams." Kakashi pulled out four slips of paper from his pockets, "So here are your recommendation forms."

"Recommendation forms?" Sakura repeated.

"Please don't repeat me, Haruno. If you don't want to fill it out, then you won't have to take the exam."

"YES!" Naruto cheered and hugged Kakashi, "I love you, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Cut it out, get off me!" Kakashi pried him off and backed a little bit away from him, "Only those who wish to take the exam, fill out the applications and five day after that, bring them to the school in room 301 by 3 pm. That's all I have for you all." After that, he disappeared the same way he appeared.

"Chūnin exams! Chūnin exams! Chūnin exams!" Naruto cheered as he held his application.

"Judging by your reaction, you want to take the exam, Naruto-kun." Kagome smiled.

"Heck ya! I have unfinished business with that cat boy!" Naruto grinned. Kagome knew that he was talking about Kankurō the Suna shinobi from the other day.

"There must be a lot of strong guys, huh Kagome-chan?" Naruto asked.

 _Like that guy from before?_ Naruto thought thinking of Kankurō and turned towards Sasuke, _And this guy?_

"Definitely. I can't wait to see who we might be going against." Kagome said. She was hoping to see Kohaku again. After all, she and Kirara hadn't seen him since yesterday.

For Sasuke, he was thinking about Gaara and Kohaku. He had never fought against a Suna shinobi or a Kumo shinobi before. Besides, he didn't like the way that Kohaku guy was looking at Kagome.

 _Kagome-chan is destined to become mine. I'm the only one who can look at her that way._ Sasuke thought.

 _I don't want to do this..._ Sakura stared at her recommendation form. She didn't think that she had the strength or skills to participate in the exams. Most importantly, the courage to participate.

 _I can't compare with Sasuke-kun, Kagome-chan, or even Naruto-kun._ She looked back up at Sasuke, Kagome, and Naruto, _Can I really do this?_

* * *

Five Days Later:

"Where's Haruno? She's never late." Kagome asked as she, Kirara, Naruto, and Sasuke waited for her.

"Don't know." Naruto said. Then they saw her run up to them.

"Haruno, you're late." Kagome said.

"Sorry." Sakura apologized and gazed at Sasuke, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Morning." Sasuke responded.

Naruto, Kirara, and Kagome looked at each other. They were a little both confused on Sakura's behavior. Then the team entered the building and went to the second floor. When they got there, they saw a mob of genin in a corridor. A boy with a bowl haircut was pushed to the floor after he got punched by one of the two people who were guarding a door.

"How can you expect to pass the Chūnin exam at that level?" The one who punched the boy mocked.

"You should quit while you have the chance." The one next to him said.

"Please, just let us through." A girl with hair buns begged. Just when she was about to be punch, Kagome appeared and grabbed the boy's wrist.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't hit girls?" Kagome grinned.

"So fast!" A male genin said. Kagome released his wrist.

"Listen up! We're just trying to be kind to you! The Chūnin exams are extremely difficult." The first boy said.

"We've seen many who gave up easily on becoming a ninja or got seriously injured when they took this exam." The other added.

"A Chūnin is the commander of a squad." The first one said, "It's their duty to take responsibility for the team's missions and their deaths. And to think that these brats are trying to…"

"What's wrong on dwindling the numbers of who _aren't_ going to pass?" The other teased.

"It's nice speech and all, but I'll pass." Sasuke smirked as he stepped forward with Naruto and Sakura behind him as he stood next to Kagome.

"Undo the genjutsu on the door. We want to get to the third floor." Kagome said.

"Oh?" The first boy responded with an arched brow.

"So you noticed?" The other boy asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Sakura, how about you?" Sasuke asked, glancing at her, "You should've noticed first. Your analyzation skills and illusionary technique know-how is the best in our squad."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura trailer off with surprise before smiling, "O-Of course, I noticed it right away. This is the second floor."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed.

 _At least she's okay._ Kagome thought.

 _Yup._ Naruto thought.

Then the illusion was gone and was back to its original form. The sign on the door turned back to its correct number, '201'.

"You're pretty good." The first boy said, "But detecting the genjutsu ain't enough…" He tried to kick Kagome as she tried to kick him as well. But they were stopped by a boy with bowl shaped haircut.

 _He's pretty fast._ Sakura thought, _He's totally different when he got hit before._

 _He stopped Kagome-chan's kick?_ Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, _What's with the chakra in his arms?_

"Hey, you broke your promise." A boy with long brown hair and pale eyes, "You're the one who said that you didn't want to gather any attention by doing something that will make you stand out."

"But…" The boy trailed off and looked towards Sakura and blushed, "My name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura-chan, right?"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion.

He gave her a thumbs up and grinned, "Will you be my girlfriend? I will protect you until I die!"

 _I think someone has a crush on Haruno._ Kagome thought.

 _I think so, too._ Naruto responded back to Kagome.

"Definitely...not…" Sakura replied. Lee instantly got depressed.

"What?" Lee asked.

"You're too 'unique' for my taste." Sakura responded. Lee hung his head down with depressed lines on his head.

 _ **Poor Lee**_. Kagome and Naruto thought in unison while Kirara sighed. Then he gazed upon Kagome and blushed even harder.

"Who are you, beautiful?" Lee asked with pink cheeks.

"Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said.

"Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my own life!" Lee repeated the same action from before with Sakura. Sasuke's brow began to twitch. He didn't like how this guy was looking at Kagome. He made it clear to himself that he will have Kagome.

"Sorry, Lee. But I'm…" Kagome began to say.

"No, she won't." Sasuke finished. Kagome elbowed him in the ribs.

"You didn't need to answer for me, Sasuke-kun." Kagome narrowed her eyes at Sasuke before she turned towards Lee, "I'm very sorry, Lee. I can't accept your offer. But I hope that we could be friends."

Lee nodded sadly, "I understand, Kagome-chan. I didn't know that you belonged to someone else."

"What? I don't belong to anyone." Kagome said, blinked.

"But, didn't your teammate just say that you belonged to him?" Lee asked, confused.

"No, I don't belong to him. Where did you get that idea, Lee?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, then I'm sorry that I caused a misunderstanding, Kagome-chan." Lee rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"It's okay, Lee." Kagome replied with a closed eye smile.

 _But it_ wasn't _a misunderstanding, Kagome-chan!_ Sasuke thought, _You're meant to be with me!_

"Hey you two there." The long brown haired boy said as he stood across from Kagome and Sasuke, "Identify yourselves."

 _Why is it that everyone wants to talk to you and Sasuke-kun, Kagome-chan?_ Naruto thought, angrily.

 _I have no idea, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought.

"You're suppose to identify yourself before you ask." Sasuke smirked.

"You two are rookies, right? How old are you?" The long brown haired boy asked.

"I'm not obliged to answer that." Sasuke replied.

"What?" The long brown haired boy narrowed his eyes as he got angry. The girl from before chuckled at Sasuke's reply.

 _He's cute._ The girl thought.

"We better get going, right Haruno?" Kagome asked.

"R-Right. Come on guys." Sakura as she grabbed Sasuke's hand and Kagome grabbed Naruto's before heading towards the third floor.

* * *

Team 7 headed towards the stairs that would lead them to the third floor. They hoped that there wouldn't be any more delays to the exam.

"Hey!" Spoke too soon.

The five looked up and saw Lee standing at the balcony.

"I want to fight you right here and now!" Lee shouted.

"You want to fight me?" Sasuke asked, smirked.

"I'm Rock Lee and I wish to fight you, Sasuke Uchiha." Lee said.

"So you know who I am?" Sasuke asked, brow arched.

"Hai, will you fight me?" Lee asked. Kagome and Sakura glanced at the clock that hung on the wall nearby.

"Sasuke-kun, we only have a few minutes until the exam!" Sakura said.

"Don't worry, it will only take me less than five minutes to beat him." Sasuke said, arrogantly. Lee jumped down from the balcony and appeared in front of Team 7. He blushed when he gazed at Sakura.

"Oh Sakura-chan, you're an angel from Heaven." Lee said dreamily and blew a kiss at her. Sakura quickly dodged the heart that headed towards her. Then Lee repeatedly started sending more hearts towards her and Sakura kept avoiding like her life depended on it.

 _Didn't Haruno just reject him? Why is he still going after a girl who doesn't like him?_ Naruto thought.

 _Don't know, but I have to admit that he's pretty determined._ Kagome thought as she gazed at Lee. Finally he stopped blowing out hearts, allowing Sakura to catch her breath. Somehow, this genin reminded her of certain someone. Naruto was thinking the same thing as well. Then it hit them.

"Wait a minute…bowl haircut." Kagome said. (Anime arrow pointed at his hair)

"Caterpillar eyebrows." Naruto said. (Anime arrow pointed at his eye brows)

"Orange leg warmers." Kagome said. (Anime arrow pointed at his leg warmers)

"Green spandex." Naruto said. (Anime arrow pointed at his spandex)

" **You're one of Guy's students**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time.

"How did you know?!" Lee exclaimed.

"There's only one other person who would wear those pair of spandex." Kagome said.

"And has those kind of eye brows." Naruto said.

" **It was obvious**." Kagome and Naruto said at the same time. Kirara mew in agreement.

"Drop the chit-chat and let's fight." Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan (I forgot to write it in. So just pretend that he got it on their last mission).

"Alright then." Lee said, getting into fighting stance. Naruto wanted to fight Lee first, but Kagome managed to hold him back. Then Sasuke and Lee began to fight with Kagome, Kirara, Naruto, and Sakura on the sidelines.

"Why, Kagome-chan?" Naruto whined.

"No offense, Naruto-kun, but you wouldn't have stand a chance against him." Kagome said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, blinked.

"Naruto-kun, if he's a student of Guy, then that means that he's a powerful taijutsu user." Kagome said, "Meaning that you would instantly lose against him."

"I see. Thanks, Kagome-chan." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head and then flapped his arms up and down at a fast pace while whining, "But I still want to fight him!"

"Another time, Naruto-kun." Kagome said. They watched Sasuke run towards him, only to get hit in the gut by Lee's foot, landing on the other side of the room.

 _He's quick I'll give him that._ Sasuke thought as he ran towards him. His team began watching him lose to Lee. Then Lee went under Sasuke and kicked in the chin which sent him up in the air. He appeared under Sasuke as the bandages on his hands began to unravel. Suddenly, a windmill shuriken pinned his bandages to the wall. Sakura quickly ran and caught Sasuke from his fall. Kagome and Naruto ran towards the other two.

"Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sasuke grunted.

"Stop right there, Lee."

They looked to where the voice came from and saw Lee kneeling nervously in front of a life sized turtle. Kagome knew that it was a summoning turtle.

"Y-You were watching?" Lee asked nervously.

"Hey, Kagome-chan." Naruto asked.

"Yeah?" Kagome asked.

"That's a turtle, right?" Naruto asked, pointing at the summoning turtle.

"It's kind of obvious, Naruto-kun." Kagome said with a sweatdrop on the side of her head.

"Can a turtle become a teacher?" Naruto asked, still pointing at the turtle who was lecturing Lee at the moment.

"Naruto-kun, that turtle is a summoning." Kagome replied with a sweatdrop on the side of her head. Naruto looked up and placed his fist into the palm of his hand.

"Oooh, now I get it." Naruto said.

"You fool!" The turtle loudly scolded, which made Lee and the others flinch, "Did you think that excuse would work on me? You know very well for what it means for a shinobi to reveal his moves."

"Hai!" Lee quickly stood and saluted.

When Sasuke was able to finally stand on his feet, he wiped away the blood that was on his face and glared at Lee.

 _I lost to this weird guy?_ Sasuke thought, angrily.

"Are you prepared to face the consequences?" The turtle asked.

"Yes, sir." Lee replied.

"Guy-sensei, please take care of the rest." When the turtle said that, a man that almost looked like Lee appeared on the back of the turtle doing a weird pose. Kagome, Kirara, and Naruto knew who this man was: Guy Maito the so called proclaimed 'Green Beast of Konoha'.

"You guys are in the springtime of your life, aren't you?" Guy asked. All four genins' jaws dropped and their eyes bulged out at the sight of the man.

"Another weird guy came out!" Sakura pointed out, obvious creeped out by the man's pose.

"Yo, Lee." Guy said as he showed a thumb up and grinned, making his teeth sparkled.

"Guy's appearance will always weird me out." Kagome muttered.

"I agree with you as well, Kagome-chan." Naruto muttered.

"Don't make fun of Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted as he pointed at Team 7.

"Sorry, but Guy will always weird someone out." Kagome said.

"What did you say?!" Lee exclaimed.

"That's enough, Lee." Guy said and Lee immediately obeyed him.

"Hai, sir!" Lee saluted.

"You idiot!" Guy said before he punched Lee in the cheek and made him land a few feet in front of them. Team 7 were surprised that Lee's sensei would unexpectedly punch him. Guy bented down on one knee as the teacher and student stared at each other.

"Lee, you...you…" Guy began to cry.

"S-Sensei." Lee began to cry as well.

"Lee!"

"Sensei! I...I…"

"It's alright, Lee. You don't have to say anymore." Guy said. Then the scene changed to a sunset where they were on a cliff and waves were crashing against it.

"Sensei!" Lee cried as he ran and hugged Guy.

"Lee!"

Kagome, Kirara, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were repulsed at the scene before them. They couldn't help but be disturbed at this awkwardness between Lee and Guy.

 _I lost...to this guy?_ Sasuke thought, his left brow twitching. He was having a hard time believing that this green spandex weirdo was able to wipe the floor with him. The strangeness was added when they noticed that even the summoning turtle had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"This is youth, right?" Guy asked.

"Sensei!" Lee cried. Then Guy released Lee from his arms and they both stood up.

"It's alright, Lee." Guy placed his hand on Lee's shoulder, "It's normal to make mistakes when you're young."

"Y-You're too kind, sensei!" Lee said as he tried to wipe away his tears. Guy pointed outside.

"Now run 500 laps around the training ground and into the sunset!"

"Hai!" Lee saluted before he and Guy started to leave.

"Hey, we're still talking here!" Naruto shouted with a irk mark on the back of his head.

"What are you going to do about the Chūnin Exams?" Sakura asked, "There isn't any time left."

"Huh? Oh...right." Guy cleared his throat and looked at Lee, "Lee, I'll punish you for fighting and breaking our promise after the exam, okay?"

"Hai, sir!" Lee saluted.

"Do 500 laps!" Guy said as he made a weird pose.

"Hai, sir!" Lee saluted again.

The four genin and two tailed cat watched the scene with sweatdrops on the back of their heads.

"They're stupid…" Sakura muttered.

"Weird is a better word, Haruno." Kagome said. Then Guy turned towards them. Team 7 flinched when they noticed him staring at them.

 _These are Kakashi's..._ Guy thought.

"He's looking at us!" Kagome whispered, freaked out by his stare.

"You're Kakashi's students, right?" Guy asked, "Is he doing well?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"Not only that, but people call us eternal rivals!" Guy said with his clenched fist in front of him.

 _ **Only to Guy's point of view**_. Kagome and Naruto thought in unison with sweatdrops on the back of their heads.

"That sounds so fake!" Sakura exclaimed.

"How rude!" Lee exclaimed, "Guy-sensei really is…"

"It's okay. Don't say it outloud." Guy replied, "Show it in your attitude."

Sasuke was eying on Guy. But when he blinked, he disappeared.

"We had over a hundred matches! 50 wins and 49 losses!" Guy proclaimed with his puffed up chest when he appeared behind them.

"When did he…" Sakura trailed off.

"But didn't you lose in most of the rock-paper-scissor games, Guy?" Kagome asked. Guy comically stiffened at the realization.

"Hey, did you ever figure out who dyed your spandex pink?" Naruto asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Guy said, determinedly with his fist in front of him, "But someday I will find that person and I will bring him to justice!"

"Pink spandex?" Lee blinked, curious of what they meant by 'pink spandex'.

"Oh, you didn't know, Lee? A few years ago, someone dyed Guy's spandex pink and he had to wear that exact pair for a couple of weeks." Kagome said.

"It was embarrassing...my pride was ruined that day...oh the humiliation..." Guy said as a cloud of gloom hung over him while his head slumped down with depression lines. Kagome and Naruto had a sweat drop on the back of their heads. They didn't know that Guy took the prank so serious. It was a harmless prank. Guy had a big amount of pride for whatever he did. Well, that's what they think.

"Anyway, let's just say that I'm stronger than Kakashi." Guy boasted.

 _What?_ Sasuke thought with disbelief, _His speed is definitely better than Kakashi. Is he even human?... stronger than Kakashi? Damn it...he's not bluffing._

"You see?" Lee said, "Guy-sensei is amazing, right?"

"Lee has caused you trouble, so please forgive him for the sake of my face." The green spandex man said. Team 7 sweatdropped.

 ** _He's_** _**so**_ ** _weird..._** Team 7 thought.

"This is a refreshing face, that is. Lee and you five should head towards the exam room now." Guy threw a kunai at the windmill shuriken, making it fall off the wall.

"Do your best, Lee! Farewell!" Guy said.

"Hai, sir!" Lee saluted once more. Then the teacher and turtle disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Sasuke-kun." Lee said, "Let me say this before I go. To be honest, I wanted to test my skills."

"What?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

"I lied a while ago. The strongest of Konoha's genin is on my team. I entered this exam to fight against him. And you're one of my targets, as well. Prepare yourself for the exam!" Lee said before he jumped and left.

Sasuke clenched his fist tightly and gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe that Lee was able to defeat him. It almost seem that Lee was underestimating him. He had never felt so humiliated. Especially in front of Kagome. She probably thought that he was weak.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura trailed off when she saw Sasuke's head lowered, his bangs covering his eyes.

"It looks like the Uchiha clan ain't so great after all." Naruto mocked with his hands behind his head.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura scolded.

"Shut up." Sasuke muttered darkly, "Next time, I'll slaughter him for sure."

"And you lost real badly, too." Kagome added with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What's with you two?!" Sakura exclaimed angrily. Sasuke was confused on why Kagome was agreeing with Naruto. So he glared at Naruto.

"You saw his hands didn't you?" Naruto asked, "That fuzzy brow guy must've trained a lot, everyday…probably more than you. That's all there is to it."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and looked away. He felt so embarrassed on what had just happened earlier. He couldn't believe that he had lost to a taijutsu user. But now, he had another opponent that he wanted to defeat. He wanted to show Kagome that he was the strongest rookie and that she belonged to him and no other guy can have her.

"The Chūnin Exams are getting interesting, huh?" Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, grinning along with Kagome and Sakura.

"Let's go, everyone!" Kagome cheered and Kirara mewed as they followed her to the third floor.

* * *

When they reached the third floor, they spotted Kakashi in the corridor near the assigned room for the exam and stopped a couple feet. He closed his orange covered novel when he noticed them.

"I see, so Haruno came as well." Kakashi said, "Now you can officially register for the exams."

"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I'll tell you the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three, or in this case, four." Kakashi explained.

"But didn't you say that we can decide if we want to take the exam or not?" Kagome questioned.

"Yeah, I did." Kakashi replied.

"You lied?" Sakura asked.

"Hai." Kakashi said before he looked away, "If I had said that, Kagome, Naruto, and Sasuke would force Haruno to take the exam. Even if she didn't want to take the exam, if Sasuke asked her, she would try to take it anyway."

"What would have happen if Sasuke-kun, Kagome-chan, and Naruto-chan had come here?" Sakura asked.

"I would have stopped them from taking the exam and entering these doors." Kakashi looked towards them, "But the four of you came here of your own free will. Sasuke, Sakura, Kagome, Naruto, and of course you too, Kirara, I'm proud of you all. I couldn't have ask for a better team."

Kakashi moved to the side, allowing his team to move towards the door. Team 7 smiled and nodded their heads.

"Let's go!" Naruto cheered and they entered the room.

* * *

 _He who takes no chances wins nothing._

 _-_ Danish Proverb

* * *

 **A/N:**

If you're wondering why Naruto is a little bit OC is because Kagome has him wrapped around her finger. The reason why he scored a little higher (Chapter 2) on the tests was because she threatened him with ramen. Like: "If you don't get a good grade on the test, no ramen for a month." She made sure that Teuchi wouldn't give him any. Also the reason why Naruto isn't so olging about Sakura is because Kagome was able to tell Naruto that Sakura wasn't meant for him. Also, for Sasuke's Sharingan, I forgot to write it in Chapter 7 since I was mostly focusing on Kagome defending Sasuke in Haku's mirrors. So just pretend that he got back then.


	16. The Competition

Chapter 15: The Competition

When Team 7 entered the room, they could feel all of the stares and some glares from the genin in the room as soon as the door closed behind them. It was _very_ intense. Kagome didn't expect to see so many genin from different countries to be in the same room. She figured that the intensity came from the other genins because of the countries that don't really like one another.

"W-Wow." Naruto trailed off nervously.

"I-I guess we're not alone." Sakura said, nervous as well.

"Sasuke-kun, you're here!"

Kagome, Naruto, Sakura, and Kirara turned towards the voice to see Ino hugging Sasuke from behind.

"I've been waiting for you eagerly to show up with that handsome face of yours!" Ino squealed while wrapping her arms around his neck. Unfortunately she didn't noticed that Sasuke was annoyed by her close contact with him, which Ino completely ignored.

"Back off from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" Sakura barked while pointing at Ino.

"Oh, it's you, Sakura." Ino mocked her as she got down off of Sasuke, "Your forehead is still wide and you're ugly as ever...like always."

"What did you say?!" Sakura exclaimed while Ino stuck her tongue out. Kagome sighed at their childish behavior. She was starting to get annoyed with them fighting over Sasuke.

"You four are taking this troublesome exam, too?" Shikamaru asked with his hands in his pockets as he walked up to them with Choji beside him.

"Hey, it's the idiot duo." Naruto said.

"Naruto, manners." Kagome said, sternly.

"Stop calling us that." Shikamaru scolded him.

"Hey! Found you all." Another voice said, "I see that everyone's here."

The voice turned out to be Kiba who had Akamaru on top of his head.

"H-Hello." Hinata greeted shyly. Naruto turned towards her and began to blush.

"So you three made it here, too?" Shikamaru asked, "Geez…"

"I see. All ten rookies are here to take the exam this year." Kiba said and turned towards Kagome, "Hey Kagome-chan, Kirara!" He cheered.

"Good to see you too, Kiba-kun. Also you, Akamaru-kun." Kagome said with a closed eye smile. Akamaru barked in greeting while Kirara meowed. The two animals always got along with one another even though they're two separate species. They both jumped off their partner's shoulders and started to play with each other. Then Akamaru walked over to Kagome and she patted him on the head before she scratched him behind his ears. Unexpectedly, another two tailed cat walked up to Kagome.

"Hey that cat almost looks like Kirara." Kiba said as he stared at Isamu who jumped into Kagome's arms. She looked around the room and spotted Kohaku a few rows down. The two boys beside looked to be his teammates.

* * *

 _K-Kagome-chan?_ Kohaku thought when he caught sight of Kagome. She smiled at him and waved as she held Isamu with one arm.

 _It's really her_. Kohaku thought when he gazed at her. He was really glad to see her at the exam. He wanted to make sure that he'll be able to help her throughout the exam. Even if his own teammates questioned it.

"Hey Kohaku, what are you looking at?" Nao asked.

"N-Nothing." Kohaku stuttered. Ken whistled.

"Now _that_ is a beautiful girl." Ken said when he saw who Kohaku was looking at.

"Ken, we're not here to flirt with girls. We're here to take the exam." Nao said, "Besides, she's a Konoha kunoichi."

"So?" Ken asked, brow arched.

"What I mean is…?" Nao trailed off when he noticed that Kohaku was headed towards the girl, "Kohaku?"

* * *

"Hey guys."

Everyone turned towards the voice and saw a man with grey hair tied back in a low ponytail and glasses.

"You should quiet down a little bit. So you're the ten rookies that just graduated from the academy, right? You shouldn't be fooling around with those cute little faces. It's not a field trip."

"Who are you to tell us that?!" Ino shouted.

"Oh, I'm Kabuto Yakushi." Kabuto introduced himself, "Look all around you." All of the ten genin look around them and saw all of the genin glaring at them. However, one group stood out.

"The ones over there are from Amegakure. They have short tempers. Everyone is very tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get bullied. But I guess that it can't be helped since you're just rookies who don't know anything. It reminds me of the old me."

"Kabuto-san, was it?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah." Kabuto replied.

"Is this your second time?" Sakura asked.

"No, this would be my seventh." Kabuto said, "The exam takes place twice a year, so it's my fourth year."

"That means that you know a lot about the exam?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I do." Kabuto said.

"So you must be an expert on it, Kabuto-san." Naruto complimented Kabuto.

"But he never passed it, Naruto-kun." Kagome commented. It made her curious to why Kabuto would be in his fourth year of the exam. Well, if he passed the first, it must be that he quits in the second part. Actually, he would probably end up dead in the second part. So why would he keep coming to the exam only to fail every time. Kagome was soon getting suspicious of Kabuto. She knew that he was hiding something. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Not to mention his aura as well, it reminded her of Mizuki for some reason.

"That is true." Kabuto agreed.

"Is the Chūnin Exams really that hard?" Shikamaru asked, "This is getting even more troublesome."

"Maybe I should help my cute, little underclassmen some information…" Kabuto said as he held out a stack of cards, "With these Ninja Info Cards."

"Ninja Info Cards?" Sakura repeated, confused on what these cards were able to do.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra." He explained as he placed the stack on the floor and took out a blank card, "I've collected information on this exam for the past four years. There's 200 in total." Then he took out one card and flipped it in front of them, "It looks blank, but to get information from it…" He began to slowly spin the card with his finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as the rookies huddle around to watch him. What they didn't know that Kohaku was behind them. Listening to their conversation. He was curious about what the 'Ninja Info Cards' were.

"It's made so that you can't view it without my chakra." Kabuto explained, "Like this." A map appeared on the card.

"Wow, what information is this?" Sakura asked, curious and amazed.

"The total number of examiners, and countries participating this year's exam." He said, "It's also has the number of participants from each hidden village. Let me ask you, why do you think that they do the Chūnin Exams together? First of all, it's to deepen the friendly relationships with the other countries. Second, it's to heighten the level of the ninja. At least that's what they say."

"What do you mean, 'that's what they say'?" Sakura asked, confused.

"He means that the real purpose of the exam is to confirm the level of ninja in each country to try and balance out power, Haruno." Kagome replied.

"Correct." Kabuto commented.

"Power? Balance?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Why do they go through such a troublesome task?" Shikamaru asked. Kabuto made the map disappear on the card, returning it to a blank one.

"If they don't, the weak countries will be invaded and dominated by the strong ones. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers." Kagome said.

"Are there enough cards that have detailed personal information?" Sasuke asked, taking a step closer. He wanted to know how powerful the people that he encountered are. Especially Kagome. There was something about her that caught his interest. Her fighting skills and those eyes that she had when they were on their last B-rank mission to the Land of Waves.

"Why yes." Kabuto asked, "Anyone captured your interest?"

"Kohaku Taijiya of Kumo, Rock Lee of Konoha, Gaara of Suna, and Kagome Higurashi of Konoha while you're at it." Sasuke said. Kagome was a little bit shocked at this. She didn't think that Sasuke would want information on her.

"One of your own teammates?" Kabuto asked, his brow arched. He shrugged his shoulders and took out a card. He placed a finger on it and spun it. Information appeared on the card. He picked up the card and began to read off of what it said.

"Kohaku Taijiya of Kumogakure. Mission Completed: 40 D-rank, 23 C-rank, 1 B-rank. Highly powerful in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kenjutsu. Somewhat low in genjutsu. This is his first time at the exam. He's a foreign ninja, so I can't find much on him." Kabuto said. Then he summoned the next card.

"Rock Lee of Konohagakure. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuuga. Team Leader is Guy. Mission Completed: 20 D-rank and 12 C-rank. He's highly skilled in taijutsu, but he's terrible in ninjutsu and genjutsu. This is his first time at the exam as well." Kabuto said. He summoned the next card.

"Gaara of Sunagakure. Mission Completed: 8 C-rank, 1 B-rank. This is his first time at the exam as well. Unfortunately, he's another foreign ninja. So there's not much on him as well. But he came back unharmed from the B-rank mission." Kabuto said. Then he summoned the last card.

"He did a B-rank and came out unharmed?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes widened in shock. He had never heard of a ninja that would come back unharmed after a B-rank mission. It's unbelievable!

"Interesting. Kagome Higurashi of Konohagakure. Team leader is Kakashi Hatake. Her teammates are Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Mission Completed: 30 D-rank, 1 C-rank, 1 B-rank. The C-rank was later turned to a B. Powerful in taijutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, and ninjutsu. First time at the exam." Kabuto said, reading off the card, "That's all it says."

"How did you get another B-rank mission, Kagome-chan?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at Kagome.

"It's classified." Kagome said. Sasuke was curious as well. He wondered how she got another B-rank mission without them knowing. But what was the mission? While he was distracted with his thoughts, everyone else stared at Kagome with amazement. They didn't know that she completed another B-rank mission.

Kagome remembered that mission. The mission was to find an herb for their mother, but ended up running into her old friends from her previous life. It felt good to see them all again. She was glad that Koga _finally_ got the message that she didn't want to be his mate. Kabuto placed another card on top of the cards from before and the map appeared once more.

"Konoha, Kumo, Suna, Ame, Taki, Kusa, and Oto." Kabuto began, "Many talented genins from these hidden village have come here to this year's exam. Oto is a village of a small country that has just been recently made, so I don't really have any information on them." He placed all of his cards back into his deck, "Either way, they all come from powerful hidden villages."

"I'm starting to lose my confidence…" Hinata trailed off as she pushed her index fingers together.

"It's too late to say that!" Ino shouted causing Hinata to flinch.

"In other words, the examinees here are all…" Sakura trailed off as she gazed upon all of the genins in the room.

"Right." Kabuto smirked, "It's not only Lee, Kohaku, Gaara, or Kagome. All of these people here are the top elites chosen from each country. This isn't that easy."

Kagome looked towards Naruto and saw his whole body tremble with his bangs covering his eyes. She figured that he might be nervous with a number of these people and the tense atmosphere.

 _Naruto-kun, are you nervous?_ Kagome thought.

 _No._ Naruto thought.

 _Then why are you-?_ Kagome's thought was trailed off when she saw Sakura place her hand on Naruto's left shoulder.

"Hey Naruto." Sakura said, "You don't need to be that scared-" She stopped when she noticed that he was clenching his fists tightly. Suddenly, he turned around and faced the examinees while pointing at them.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto shouted proudly, "I'm not going to lose to any of you! Got that?!"

Kagome could only blinked owlishly as what Naruto had just said.

"What's with him?!" Ino exclaimed, "What's the point in provoking everyone?!"

"Why are you asking me?!" Sakura shouted angrily.

"Who else am I supposed to ask?!" Ino shouted at Sakura.

"What did you say?!" Sakura shouted at Ino. Naruto sighed.

"That felt good." Naruto said with a goofy smile.

* * *

"It's those guys that we've met awhile ago." Kankuro said as he stared at Naruto and the rookies behind him.

"Weak dogs tend to bark oftenly." Temari remarked with her hands on her hips as she stood next to Kankuro.

* * *

"Is he an idiot?" Tenten asked with her left hand on her hip and leaning her weight onto her left leg.

"It looks like he's in good spirits." Neji replied with his crossed in front of his chest.

"He's burning with passion." Lee said while clenching his fists in front of him. Neji sighed.

"Maybe you didn't beat them up enough, Lee." Neji said with his eyes closed.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" A male Oto ninja said who had spiky dark hair and eyes who glared at Kabuto from across the room, "They say that Oto is a minor village of a small country."

"I'm hurt." Another male Oto ninja said. He had bandages that covered most of his face, leaving his left eye uncovered.

"Let's play with them." A female Oto kunoichi said who had long black hair that had a purple ribbon tied at the end and black eyes.

"Yeah, they speak as if we're left over ninja." The bandaged ninja agreed, "Let's make them add this into their data…Oto ninjas are somewhat cruel."

* * *

"'I'm not going to lose to any of you'?" Kiba repeated Naruto's words from before in a mocking tone while covering his mouth, "You sure talk big."

"That idiot." Shikamaru sighed, "He just made everyone in here his enemy."

Sakura came up from behind him and started choking him in a headlock.

"What are you saying?!" Sakura scolded Naruto.

"I was just telling the truth." Naruto choked out.

 _Kagome-chan, help me!_ Naruto panicked.

 _This is what happens when you speak 'the truth' in front of genin from other villages, Naruto-kun._ Kagome thought with her arms crossed in front of her chest as she and Sakura glanced at the genin in the room. Apparently, they didn't take it nicely.

"E-Everyone, it was a joke. He's a severe idiot, so…there's no need to what a hasty idiot and guy who gets carried away easily say seriously. Please don't worry about it." Sakura glared at Naruto, "Because of you, everyone is glaring at me! I'm going to beat you silly!"

* * *

"Shall we?" The bandaged Oto ninja asked.

"Let's go." The spiky black hair Oto ninja smirked.

Then the three Oto shinobi made their move. Kankuro was about to take off his wrapped up puppet, but Gaara stopped him. Kagome sensed three auras coming towards them, but she kept her gaze on Naruto and Sakura as the angry pink haired girl forced Naruto to apologize.

"You need to learn to read the atmosphere!" Sakura lectured Naruto.

"Okay…" Naruto said, slightly scared of Sakura.

Then the spiky haired Oto leaped off one of the tables and threw two kunai towards Kabuto. Kagome quickly drew her sword and blocked them away, making them fall to the floor. Just about as he was to attack her, a metal chain was wrapped around him and it pulled him next to the Oto kunoichi, ramming into her which caused them to skid across the floor. The bandaged Oto ninja headed towards Kabuto to punch him. However Kabuto dodged his upcoming attack with great speed.

 _ **He dodged it!**_ Naruto and Sakura thought.

 _That's a speed that I can deal with._ Sasuke thought, smirking.

The Oto ninja tried to attack again, but Kagome stepped in his path and punched him in the face. Kabuto smirked, thinking that the attack didn't get to him. However, his glasses cracked a few seconds later.

"I see, that's the kind of attack it is." Kabuto said while taking his glasses off.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, "You definitely dodged it. So why did your glasses..."

"It must have hit his nose." Shikamaru commented and clicked his tongue, "That's what happens when you try to act cool."

Kabuto's body started to shake until he fell down to his knees and threw up.

"Kabuto!" Kagome said as she ran to his side.

"He threw up!" Naruto said.

"Kabuto-san!" Sakura said as she knelt beside him.

"Are you alright, Kabuto-san?" Kagome asked. Then she noticed Kohaku standing in front of them. He held his hand out to Kabuto. He took his hand and Kohaku helped him stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kabuto assured them.

"You're not as good as I thought for a veteran who took the exam for four years." The bandaged Oto shinobi mocked.

"Put this in your info cards." The spiky Oto shinobi said as he pointed at Kabuto, "The three Oto shinobi will definitely become chūnins."

 _Kabuto definitely dodged that Oto shinobi's attack. How come he vomited?_ Sasuke thought.

"Lee, what do you say about that attack?" Neji asked. He was curious to how the man dodged the Oto shinobi's attack, but he vomited afterwards.

"There was no problem in dodging it." Lee replied, "There must be some sort of trick to it."

"Hey Kagome-chan, Naruto-kun."

Kagome and Naruto turned towards the voice and saw Kohaku. Isamu jumped off her shoulder and Kohaku knelt down to let him get onto his right shoulder.

"Kohaku-kun, it's nice to see you again." Kagome said.

"Likewise. I hope to go against you in the finals." Kohaku said.

"Hai, me too." Kagome said. Suddenly, smoke appeared from the front end of the room.

"Quiet down, you punks!" A male voice yelled. The smoke vanished to reveal a group of jounins and chūnins.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A man said who had two scars across his face, "I'm the examiner of the first part of the Chūnin Exams, Ibiki Morino."

* * *

 _Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress._

 _-_ Herbert Hoover


	17. Friends and Ramen

Chapter 16: Friends and Ramen

 **A/N:** I'm skipping the written exam because it's too boring

* * *

"That was one _hard_ test." Kagome sighed in relief.

"I'll say. I thought that we would fail for sure." Naruto said as he stretched his arms out.

"Kagome!"

Team Seven looked behind them and saw Kohaku running towards them.

"Kohaku." Kagome said as Kohaku stopped in front of her.

"Glad that we finally pass the first exam?" Kohaku asked.

"Hai, although that Anko woman seemed really strange to me." Kagome said.

"I agree with you fully on that, Kagome." Kohaku said, "Hey, would you mind taking a walk with me? I haven't seen the rest of the village, would mind giving me a tour?" Kohaku scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Sure, I would love to." Kagome said with a closed eye smile. At that moment, Sasuke stiffened at Kagome's words.

 _She's willing to be in his presence?!_ Sasuke thought with comical shock. He knew that the boy in front of them was Kumo shinobi. He didn't really trust him to be near Kagome. But somehow, Kagome was comfortable with him.

* * *

"So, you've been training really hard for a long time, right?" Kagome asked.

"Hai, I know that I failed to protect someone once. But I promised myself that I won't fail again." Kohaku declared with determination.

"That's a great goal to have, Kohaku." Kagome smiled.

"Thank you, Kagome." Kohaku smiled back.

"So where did you find Isamu?" Kagome gazed at the two tailed cat that sat on Kohaku's shoulder.

"On one of my missions. He instantly got attached to me." Kohaku petted Isamu who began purring.

"I can see that." Kagome commented as she pet Kirara who also began to purr as well, "By the way, are you training with Shippo?"

"Hai, how did you know that?" Kohaku asked.

"Well, I visited Sesshomaru-sama and Sōten-sama told me that you were one of his summoners." Kagome replied.

"I found the contract when I was nine and I've training with them ever since." Kohaku said.

"I've trained with them just as much, too." Kagome said, "But it's kind of hard to when the village isn't so friendly with yōkai. Especially with kitsunes."

"Sorry." Kohaku said with a sad smile, "I'm sure that Shippo-sama is glad to train with you."

"Hai, you should have seen the face he had when he saw me again after coming into this world." Kagome smiled.

"I can almost imagine." Kohaku said.

"Hey, have you ever had ramen?" Kagome asked.

"I know that this might sound odd, but no." Kohaku said.

"Really? Well, I'll take you to the best ramen shop in all of Konoha!" Kagome grabbed Kohaku's hand and lead him to the Ichiraku's.

* * *

What the two didn't know was that Kohaku and Kagome's team stood behind the fences and watched them walk down the streets.

"Kagome is so lucky. She always gets the guys." Sakura whined.

"How does she know him is the question." Sasuke said.

"It's so unfair! Kohaku was able to get a girl just like that!" Ken whined with anime tears going down his cheeks.

"I'm amazed that he can easily get along with her." Nao said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Kohaku barely hangs out with any girls. He spent most of his time training and doing missions." Nao said.

"He was also very popular back in the academy. He got at least ten love letters a week and five confessions in a month." Ken sighed, "Yet he turned them all down."

"Why would he do that?" Sakura pondered.

"No idea. He never really told us." Nao shrugged, "But he seems to be very interested in your teammate though."

Then they noticed that Kohaku and Kagome were going down the street. Naruto knew exactly where the two were going to next. So they followed them.

* * *

"Ichiraku?" Kohaku asked as the two stood in front of the ramen shop.

"Hai, Naruto and I always come here whenever we get the chance." Kagome said.

"Come in!" Teuchi yelled.

"Hey Teuchi-san." Kagome said as she walked in with Kohaku behind her.

"Oh hey, Kagome-chan. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Teuchi asked.

"Hai, it has." Kagome smiled.

"I seen that you've brought someone new here." Teuchi spotted Kohaku.

"This is Kohaku, it's his first time at a ramen shop." Kagome gestured to Kohaku.

"Oh, well. How about two misos?" Teuchi suggested.

"Sure, that would be great." Kagome smiled.

"Alright, comin' right up!" Teuchi turned on the stove and began to cook. Kagome and Kohaku sat down on the stools. The two watched Teuchi make the ramen. For some strange reason, it felt like forever since Kagome and Kohaku had last seen each other.

"So, you nervous about the exam?" Kagome asked.

"A little bit. But I wouldn't be a shinobi if I wasn't." Kohaku said.

"I feel the same way." Kagome said with a small smile. "But I can't help feel that something might happen in the exams."

"I was having the same feelings." Kohaku asked, "Do you think it might be bad?"

"I don't know. But we have to be on guard during the exam." Kagome said.

"I agree with you fully on that, Kagome." Kohaku said.

"Order up!" Teuchi placed the two misos in front of Kagome and Kohaku.

"Well Kohaku, let's dig in!" Kagome split the chopsticks and began eating.

* * *

"No fair. We have to watch them eat while we're sitting over here." Naruto complained.

"Is eating ramen always on your mind, Naruto?" Sakura asked with an irk mark on her temple.

"Maybe." Naruto mumbled, looking away.

"Interesting. Kohaku is trying ramen." Nao said.

"What's so interesting about that?" Sasuke asked. Nao and Ken shrugged.

"Kohaku hardly ever eats out. He's more of a home cooked meal type of guy." Ken replied.

"We've always went to his house after training. His mom would cook up lunch for us and our sensei." Nao said.

"I do find that quite odd. Naruto is the only one who constantly goes out to have ramen." Sakura pondered. "He also eats Kagome's mother's home cooked meals as well."

"I wish I was having so ramen right now." Naruto whined with anime tears falling down his cheeks.

"Idiot! We can't let those two know that we've been watching them! Who knows how they'll react to that!" Sakura whispered.

What the five genin didn't know was that Kagome already knew that they were there. So Kagome knew that Naruto was disappointed that he wasn't having ramen right now. Well, he could always come back another day.

To Sasuke's point of view, he wished that he was the one having ramen with Kagome instead of that Kumo shinobi. He began to hate that guy even more than before.

* * *

When the two were finally finished with their ramen, Kohaku decided to walk Kagome home.

"I have to admit that that was so good ramen, Kagome." Kohaku said.

"I'm glad. Teuchi-san always makes the best in all of Konoha." Kagome said. "If Naruto was here, he would probably go on about all the kinds of ramen that you should try."

"Naruto really likes ramen, huh?" Kohaku asked.

"Hai, he could eat it everyday. But my mom managed to get him to try other foods and made sure that he will stay healthy." Kagome said.

"You two are very lucky to have a mom like that." Kohaku said.

"Thank you, Kohaku." Kagome smiled.

* * *

Soon enough, the two finally arrived at Kagome's house. Kagome could see that the lights were still on in the kitchen and in her mother's room. She figured that Naruto probably told her that she was going to be coming home a little bit later than the usual.

"Well, this is my house." Kagome said, standing in front of Kohaku with her hands behind her back. "Thank you for walking me home, Kohaku."

"No problem, Kagome. I was glad to do it." Kohaku rubbed the back of his head while smiling. There was an awkward silence between the two.

"Just be careful on your way back as well." Kagome said.

"I will...see at the exams?" Kohaku asked.

"Hai." Kagome nodded. Then she opened the door before entering inside.

* * *

Meanwhile:

The five genin watched Kohaku and Kagome outside as they talked before Kagome went inside. They couldn't believe that nothing happened the entire time they were following them. How boring it was. Naruto was disappointed that he didn't get any ramen. Nao and Ken couldn't believe that Kohaku was able to get a date with a beautiful kunoichi. Sakura was jealous that Kagome was able to get a date with a cute guy.

 _Well, at least she wasn't on Sasuke-teme. So I'm fine with Kohaku-kun._ Naruto thought before disappearing and reappearing at his window which was opened a crack so that he could get in without his mother noticing.

For Sasuke, he was boiling mad on the inside. He couldn't understand what Kagome saw in that Kumo shinobi! His fists clenched in rage as he watched Kohaku stare at Kagome's house before turning to leave. He knew that he couldn't attack that boy now. He would fight him in the Chūnin exams. That was a promise.

* * *

 _To be with old friends is very warming and comforting._

\- Ian Ziering


End file.
